Taste & See...

Taste and see that the Lord is good. For 21 days in January, my church joined together in a Daniel's Fast. In the bulletin on the second week, they included a print out of Psalm 34. Verse 8 is especially on my heart tonight.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

Ps 34:8 NLT

Those of you who know me are aware of the how much I've struggled with weight. I have a great love for food and believe me, it shows! I'm Southern and food is the answer to just about every situation. Births, deaths and sickness cause all your friends to bring hoards of food to your home. With every celebration comes a table full of food. It's a situation ripe for addiction. Smokers who beat their addiction can learn to live without cigarettes and the same goes for alcoholics. People who beat their food addiction still have to eat. It can be a vicious cycle.

What right do I have to worry about the shortcomings of others, when I keep running to the fridge or the pantry? I use whatever I can find to eat to provide comfort, companionship or even a salve to boredom. Is this any better or worse than other broken commandments? No, there is no commandment that states, "Thou shalt not over eat!" There is one, however, that tells me that I should not have any other gods above Him. If I run to the kitchen instead of God, am I not putting my appetites over Him?

I printed out the above Scripture and the first part of verse 8 seems to shout in my mind. How can I 'taste and see' when I'm too busy filling my mouth with chocolate, chips, any form of bread, sweet tea and/or Pibb Extra? That's just the short list. Have you understood the fact that I love food? What am I tasting? He told the woman at the well that He could give her water so that she would never thirst again. Do we think that this could be apply to food? I'm not tasting anything that is eternal. Darn, I'm hungry in just a few short hours, if not sooner. This realization can be pretty demeaning. I haven't had multiple husbands and am not living in sin. I don't recognize myself in that woman. Or, rather, I didn't. She was thirsty, if not dying of thirst. I'm hungry, and could be starving. The only thing is, we are craving the same thing. And, we are filling up with mere substitutions. She ran to men. I run to the kitchen. He encouraged her, and me, to taste. Taste Him. His love. His touch. His acceptance. There is no satisfaction without Him.

Is He about a certain weight? I don't think so. He is all about who or what we put in between Him and ourselves. When you're hurting, lonely, and in need, where do you run? If it's not to Him, maybe it's something you should study. I'm starting to. Will I loose weight? I don't know, I've been trying since puberty! Hopefully, I'll learn where to run. Join me?

I HATE Satan!!!!

I know that none of us like Satan, but I really HATE him tonight! On my FaceBook last night I wrote, "I HATE Ben Linus!" Sorry, but it takes a Lost fan to understand that declaration. Yep, you guessed it, I am a Lost fan. Just about everything out of the mouth of the character Ben Linus is a lie. We as the audience knows it as do the other characters on Lost. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the ratings), they all seem to forget it even though it is proved over and over. I even told my sister, Lisa, that I bet the serpent in the Garden of Eden looked like Ben Linus! This was funny at the time. It isn't to me now.

How many lies do we listen to and believe even after the liar has been exposed to us over and over? What about when we've been restored and our relationship with our Lord is back on track? Do we recognize the lies then? Sometimes we don't. Sometimes the ones we love don't. Sometimes those precious friends fall right back into the pit that they were raised out of. How can this happen when they are years away from that pit? What deafens our ears to the voice of the Shepherd? What opens them to the voice of the serpent. How can we believe what we know is a lie?

I have a friend that I believe is listening to those lies. I believe that he has friends who are fostering these lies. This frightens me more than I could say. This is not a television show. This friend is not just fighting for his life. He is fighting for eternity and I'm afraid. Afraid he's surrounded himself with people who are listening to lies, too. Afraid that maybe this time, he won't repent. Afraid that he can't be restored a second time. Afraid that the pit is even deeper this time.

I don't have any answers to any of these questions or concerns. I do know the cause of them. The enemy of our souls. Ok, so maybe I do have an answer. Jesus. When the answers aren't enough, there is Jesus. Maybe I have to get my eyes and fears off of the problem. It's still frightening and there's a long road ahead. Man, I HATE Satan!!!

The doctor's office in which I work is in a medical plaza next door to an out of business hospital. When we first moved to Birmingham, almost 16 years ago, this hospital was one of the top in town. Now Birmingham is not as big as Atlanta, but we do have several hospitals. Carraway Methodist Medical Center had the emergency department that you wanted when trauma was involved. Several years back some brilliant (that's sarcasm in case it doesn't translate) consulting firm informed the powers that be that they were spending too much money on keeping the Trauma Center open. Now I don't know if that was the first step of the folding of CMMC, but it was one of the biggest. Fast forward to October 2008 and a one hundred year old hospital closes its doors. Hundreds of people are unemployed in a falling economy. Many people would look at that and wonder where God is in these crises. What was He doing when these people lost their jobs?

We are so used to making sure that our lives are perfect. Where did we come up with the idea that when life throws us curve balls, that we must not be doing what God wants us to do or living where God wants us to live. I'm not throwing any stones at any of you, my readers. Oh no, on the contrary, I have been guilty of making these same decisions. He's been spending the last four decades trying to get these weird ideas out of my head. Back to the hospital, with its closing, the company that owns our building has beefed up security so that we who are still there can feel safe. The security guards walk us to our cars in the evening. Monday's guard is Brother Bill. He spent years on the police force for Birmingham. Bro Bill is a pastor whose church has had to decrease his full-time paycheck. All of these things can sound like disasters if you listen with your earthly ears. But if you listen with your spiritual ears, you might hear something entirely different.

He told me of the fact that he has met and prayed for and ministered to people who would never walk through the doors of his church. He and I discussed how God can use things that look like disasters and turn them to His good. Some of my co-workers who don't know the Lord have enjoyed getting to know Bro. Bill. Isn't this what Jesus meant when he told us to take the Good News to the four corners of the earth? The Psalmist tells us how the Shepherd searches high and low to find just one lost lamb. Wouldn't He place a retired policeman, who is now a pastor, in a practically empty medical building just to minister to the few people who are there.

I can't answer the question about why all those people are now out of work. I can't answer any questions about the people who now have to travel farther to reach medical aid. I do know that it can seem hopeless. I also know that each of those people are no stranger to our Lord. He knows them more intimately than they know themselves. And I also know that He has a plan for each and every one of them. And while their lives are not where they want them to be (and they may never be) but they are exactly where He wants them to be. Try not to wait for that perfect moment. Try not to despair because your aren't where you think you should be. Try not to worry that you are surrounded by the unsaved. Whether or not you know it, He is using you just where you are. No matter how you got there.

All Tangled Up

In our basement, Lisa & I have a gift wrapping table. It is so covered up with boxes, bows, bags and ribbons that we can't actually wrap anything on it. Some of the prettiest ribbons are the thin, shinny ones but they are also the biggest handle on the table. There is absolutely no way to keep them organized. The ends unravel and tangle up with each other. In picking up the entire bunch, there are colorful tendrils of ribbon hanging and tangled up everywhere. It's actually a pretty if frustrating sight.

In a seemingly unrelated note, I love being on Facebook. I don't always accept friend requests. I just want to make sure I actually have met and known the friend. Recently I received a friend request from someone I knew over 20 years ago. Once I realized who she was, all of these feelings came up. Disappointments, pain, insecurity and not just a little bitterness. Isn't it amazing how long these things can linger without our being aware? I stewed over them and, of course, remembered every way in which I believed she had wronged me. Suddenly I was 18 again. I tried to rationalize that she was just a kid herself when these things had happened and just as insecure as I had been. Rational doesn't work against old hurts, just in case you wondered. A few hours later (why do we wait so long?) I was laying in bed and remembered to take it all to the Altar of the Lord. I pictured myself pulling out all of those old emotions and laying them on the Altar. In pulling out, I imagined all those ribbons. He wasn't asking me to sort through them, just pull them out. Those tendrils were wrapped up all inside and connected to everything. Finally they were out, and laying on the Altar. Just a tangled heap of emotions and unforgiveness.

Now, when I think of her, I speak forgiveness to her and bless her. Do I feel waves of love and forgiveness toward her? Not yet. But I do feel lighter and less tangled inside. It's amazing to think that He's just been waiting for me to get rid of all that tangled mess for over 20 years. What a gentle and patient Lord we serve! He is ever the Gentleman. And there is no forgiveness without Him.

I am following another blog these days. The only problem is that I'm running out of time :D. But this one is very special to me. This couple are members of my church and have become dear friends of mine. I have bonded with Tina Marie over writing and she has been my roomie for the last couple of Southern Christian Writers Conferences. A few years ago, she and Guy told me that they had begun the process for adopting from China. There are two Christian adoption agencies that I know of here in Birmingham, and they chose LifeLine Adoption Agency http://www.lifelineadoption.org/. They have struggled with the years of waiting as China has changed its policies for international adoption. They are in China right now with their new little girl, Liana. It is a beautiful story and one they hope to repeat it, if the Lord allows. The Poseys have two grown sons and have decided to start over with young children. Adoption is an amazing picture of what God has done for us. Each one of us are that little lost sheep and He searches far and wide and at great expense to find us and bring us home. This is just what I've seen Guy & Tina Marie do over the last few years, just to find and bring home Liana. You can follow their journey at their blog, http://poseysposies.blogspot.com/ Please join me in praying for them and others who are taking this journey.

A few weeks ago, Lisa & I watched The Dark Knight for the first time. I know, we aren't usually running this late on movies. Don't know how it happened. It's a brilliant movie & yes, Heath Ledger DOES deserve a posthumous Oscar for his performance. As it's title says, it is a dark movie. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen it & want to, you don't want to read any further. But I have something to say about the message of this movie.

In my last post I mentioned that I like happy endings. They are required for any movies and books that I allow myself to enjoy. So those of you who have watched the movie now know that it was a bit of a disappointment to Lisa & me. It leaves the franchise wide open for another sequel as there are quite a bit of questions left. It doesn't take the easy way out, not for Batman at least. But what impacted me the most is the change of the character Harvey Dent. Here's a short bio on his character. At the beginning of the movie Harvey is Gotham City's DA. He's a tower of strength and character. He cannot be purchased by the evil of the city and is determined to make the city a safer and better place. And best of all, he's succeeding. Throughout the movie, Harvey's working in the light and Batman's working in the darkest corners of the city. So how does he become the evil 'Two-Face Dent'? Tommy Lee Jones played the Dent after he became Two Face in Batman Forever. In that movie, you never saw the before of Dent. The Dark Night spotlights the before.

Again, so how did he fall? Let me tell you. It's the same way we do. Through grief, pain and horror. Through lies and disillusionment. Through a devastating outright attack. Dent lived through something a person should NEVER live through. It opened up a dark place inside him that he never knew existed. And what happened then was more than any person should ever have to experience. The source of all the terrible things that had happened came to him. This one had caused the attack not just on Dent but also on Gotham. This liar whispered to Dent. He told the hurting man lying in a hospital bed in a burn ward the worst of lies. He told him all the ones who had really been behind the pain Dent was feeling. Then the worst thing happened. Dent believed the lies and the liar. Instead of recognizing the liar and stopping him, Dent began to believe that others who had trusted the liar were responsible for Dent's current position. Just as those others followed the liar's leading so Dent, unrecognizable his grief, blazed a trail of destruction of pain and suffering lead by the liar.

How often do we, in our grief and suffering, believe the liar? This enemy of our souls who whispers in our ear that the maker of our souls really is the reason we're in pain? This source of destruction and death leads us into a path of more lies and destruction. How many of us have lived through something no person should ever have to live through? It seems, when we are hurting so terribly our ears become open to the lies of a liar. How is that, when we so desperately need to hear the words of the Truth in those moments? There are some lessons to learn from the fictional tale of Harvey 'Two Face' Dent. When the liar comes to him, Dent is all alone. No one is watching over him, sitting with him. We must keep ourselves covered. Stick with the fellowship of believers. Have people praying and fighting the war for you through prayer. In grief, we are wounded. There is no war front for us. We are in the care of the medics. Keep your ears tuned. Ask for His words to drown out those of the liar. Make sure that when the lies are loud, that there are people in your life who can speak truth to you. Keep yourself accountable. Don't disappear as Dent did so that he could wreak destruction. And, lastly, remember that even if we follow Two Face's path, there is no point in your life that forgiveness and redemption are out of reach. Batman took responsibility for Dent's sins so that the good he had brought about would not be in vain. We have a Savior who took responsibility for our sins. Hope I haven't ruined the movie for those of you who haven't seen it, but I did warn you! We'll keep our eyes open for the next Batman movie.

Several posts back I wrote about diabetes and how it can mimic the Christian walk. The name was ‘Trust the Numbers’. Now, I’m no expert on diabetes or the Christian walk, but I do work for an endocrinologist and have walked the path of the Christian since I was 7. Than sounds like that commercial that states “… but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!” Anyhoo, I had a conversation with a patient of my doctor’s that follows along that line. She is a therapist who is diabetic and has been seeing my doctor for several years now. This last year has been a difficult one for her. Because of the deaths of family members, sickness and other things, she has not been taking care of herself the way that she should. I also have a friend who has not been following her diabetes the way she should either who has just begun to make the choices she needs to. Add to those two, a dear friend has fallen back into a sinful life that he walked away from years ago. These three stories got me to thinking…

I have always been a fan of happy endings. This is a shock to those of you who know me, I’m aware! I like things that can be fixed and don’t ever have to be dealt with ever again. Hard to believe that someone my age has that kind of mindset, huh? But I’ve always had my head in the clouds and like the ends of books, movies and shows to wrap up and resolve everything. So, here I am in my 40’s thinking that maybe I have it wrong. Just as diabetes is a condition that must be dealt with until the end of one’s life, so is sin. Just because you get your blood sugars under control this moment, doesn’t mean that they will STAY under control. Every hour, minute, and food or drink taken in (or not) effects the blood sugar of a diabetic. Every choice we make effects the moments of our lives. The person struggling with pornography has to guard every moment on the internet. The alcoholic has to guard against every temptation to drink. The compulsive shopper has to guard their money and budget.

When a diabetic begins to experience fluctuating sugars, they have many tools at their disposal. The meter can tell them exactly what their sugar is. There is insulin that can be taken to bring the sugar down. There are things to take orally to raise the sugar. If there are extremes, the patient has the option to contact a doctor or hospital. Each of these steps are the choice of the patient. When a diabetic ignores the signs, when they choose NOT to use any of these tools, there is only one result. Death. If there is not intervention by others, the diabetic dies. If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s voice, His ‘meter’ if you will, sin overtakes us. If we are still struggling after repentance, we have the Godly family to call upon. He even provides Godly therapists and counselors for those of us who need deeper intervention. Each of these steps are the choice of the sinner. They cannot be forced upon us. If we choose to ignore our sin and choose not to use the tools He has given to us, there can only be one result. Spiritual death.

The beautiful thing that can happen to the sinner is this… We have a LOT more time than a diabetic has. While a diabetic may only have hours, we have a longsuffering God. He can give us days, months, years to return to Him. Don’t loose hope if your loved one is in the middle of what would be called a diabetic crisis in medical terminology. They are on God’s timetable. Pray for them. Continue to lift their names up to Him. Do not loose hope. If they have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, they will begin to crave Him again. If they haven’t, they can begin to crave what they have never had.