I've had so much swirling through my mind over the last week and was just settling in to write, when I took a moment to read something that my husband, the brilliant Steve Chamblee, wrote earlier today.  Maybe the moment he describes gripped him so because of the precious one that slipped through our fingers and we buried twelve years ago...I'm not sure, but thankful he took the time to communicate it so beautifully.  I love him more than he could ever know, second only to the very One that gave us to each other.  This is a small glimpse as to why he has my heart the way he does.  Enjoy...

Thank God for smeared screens…

 

I just got through washing the lenses of my reading glasses from my children’s smeared fingerprints for 137^th time.  I don’t know if it really is the 137^th time, but its probably not a far-fetched estimate.  It may be even far short an estimate.   As I was cleaning my lenses, tempted to be frustrated as I thought about how many times a week I have to clean my glasses and clean my lap top computer screen for the same reason – my kids, its as if the Holy Spirit whispered into my spirit – “be thankful for smeared screens & lenses!”

Of all the questions that I am asked in the course of a normal week, one of the most frequent is: “Dad, where is your Mac?” My kids love to get on my wife’s and my laptop to play, watch movies, etc.   And, I know… most responsible parents don’t let their kids play on their laptops… whatever.  Even as I type this, I’m having to strain through the gross, caked on smeared crud that is covering my screen!  Sometimes I get a little frustrated when I open my laptop and I am greeted with my smeared screen.  But, thankfully, God is changing my perspective.

I am thankful for my children!  They are completely human.  That means that, like their father, they are not perfect and have their share of…. Hmm.. how to put this?... issues.  But my kids are the best things about me.  Actually, my wife and my children are the very best of me.  I can’t imagine life without my kids. 

I know that one day my last child will fly away from the nest, and it will just be me and Shari in our house.  Wow…that’s actually a pretty cool thought!  But I know we will miss them tremendously!  And I know when that happens, I will open my laptop (if we still have them) and my screen will be clean and clear…no smeared fingerprints.  How will that feel?

I remember when I lived in Alabama, I heard of a church down the road that had just built a new fellowship hall.  I heard that there were several people in the church complaining of all the little handprints that covered the new glass doors.  I remember thinking to myself, “How sad!  You should be thankful that there are children coming to your church to hear the gospel, and you want to complain about handprints.” 

So now when I open my laptop and see a smeared screen…and I will…probably tomorrow… I will thank God for my children!  I will pray for Drew, Abbi, Aubri and Kyle.  I can live with smeared screens.  I don’t know if I could live without my children.  So give me smeared screens for years to come. 

And when they are all grown & moved away, and the grandkids ask to play on my laptop, I’m going to tell them no… but they can play on their parents laptop! 

Joy that produces laughter...

"...she can laugh at the days to come." Proverbs 31:25.  I have laughed at myself, and how the Lord changes my plans, more today than I have in a very long time.  I was off to a typical week of organized chaos and an overloaded agenda, certain of my late night ability to pull it all together.  My flight for Nashville was pulling out at 10:00 a.m. which would give us plenty of time to stop by and vote on the way to the airport.  Once on the place I would settle in, greet those sitting next to me and then watch my DVD Bible study I had remembered to pack.  All seemed perfect...in my head. Now, insert reality...

I finally made it to bed at the wee morning hour of 2:00 a.m., leaving my "list of things to do before I leave" quite unfinished.  I did, however, manage to finally reserve myself a rental car...that too of course was not without a few hiccups.  I was unable to use the credit card that I wanted to use because it was in Steve's name and not mine, therefore Steve would have to be present.  But, he wasn't going to be there. Ahhh...I'll transfer money on to my debit card and reserve it that way. Problem number one solved...for the moment. Now, to pack.  Not so fast...exhaustion won that battle and I went to bed with an optimistic view of the morning. Oh, wait...it WAS morning!! I set my alarm for 5:30 and passed out.

Once I hit the floor it was time to make the coffee, throw the bacon in the microwave, fold clothes in dryer, transfer clothes from washer into dryer (yes, clothes for my trip!!), pack my carry on, suitcase, tell Drew goodbye and send him off to school and get ready to leave.  As I'm literally throwing things into my suitcase, I begin to think of how cold it might be in Nashville...in November...you think? Duh?! Time to look for my heavy coat, scarf and gloves. Mission accomplished and out the door we went...three other kids still in bed.  Did I mention we're homeschooling them now?!  Oh well, that's a blog in and of itself...for later!

I'm feeling pretty good about the whole run around, UNTIL...we pull into the church where I was to cast my vote. Really? THAT many people in Vail are all there to vote at the same time?!?! At least a forty-five minute wait.  I look at Steve (those of you who know him know exactly what look was on his face;) and ask him if he thinks I should walk to the front of the line and kindly explain that I must be at the airport within the hour? We decided that I just didn't have time to make it happen.  Fail number one of my 'self-arranged' agenda for the day.  I beg for Steve's forgiveness...after all, I've NEVER missed an opportunity to vote in a presidential election since I was old enough to vote...what kind of person am I to even consider such a thing?!  He graciously forgave me (this is all much drama added...he was really fine;) and we headed on to the airport.

I arrived just in time and found my seat on the plane...way in the back of the plane.  Attempted to begin conversations with those around me, but neither person could speak English very well...not that I can either...so I decided to pull out my laptop and start my DVD Bible study..."A Women's Heart, God's Dwelling Place".  Plugged in my headphones, positioned my Dt. Coke (they didn't have Mt. Dew, but I'm flexible;) and was ready to hear from the Lord.  What's this?!  My headphones don't work?!  "Excuse me, O so kind, flight attendant, do you happen to have any headphones or ear buds? No ma'am, I'm sorry". Oh well, I'll read on this flight and grab some at the Dallas airport and watch my DVD on the next flight.  Found some...cost $20...thanks, but NO thanks.  Fail number two of my 'self-arranged' agenda for the day. 

As I sat on my next flight, thinking back over my recent event history, I began to smile, then chuckle, then full on laughter broke out.  I'm most certain the people around me wondered what in the world I was drinking!  Oh, and I forgot to mention that at the Dallas airport I used my debit card to purchase a 20 oz diet dew...NEVER found a price.  It could've cost me $5.00 and I wouldn't have known it...and probably wouldn't have cared by this point! The above Proverb kept coming to my mind, "...she can laugh at the days to come.".  I began to wonder what would be the next thing to 'not go my way' and I thought, "of course, the rental car!".  I started laughing again!!  "What if they try to charge a large deposit for the rental? I only transferred enough money to cover the cost of the rental." Believing that the Lord would get me where I needed to be one way or another, I walked to the rental car window and walked away with no hassle...THANK YOU, LORD!!

I then met up with two ladies that I had never met before, except over a conference call a few weeks ago.  We were scheduled to ride together because we were all headed to the same training.  As we left the Nashville airport, in the dark, in the rain, in a car I've never driven before, I began looking at the directions to the hotel. Long story short, several wrong exits, turns in the wrong direction, waiting in rush hour traffic (did I mention we were in Nashville, in the dark, in the rain and in a car I've never driven before?) three or four phone calls to some other ladies that were waiting on us and we arrived safely at our destination. Again, THANK YOU, LORD and then laughter beyond laughter!  The whole while I'm encouraging these sweet ladies, that have been thrown into my chaos alongside me, that "the greatest ability is flexibility" and of course, to "choose joy"!! Yes, I really did!!  And they so sweetly trusted in this loopy southerner turned Arizonan.  Actually, we were trusting in the One who moved the loopy southerner to Arizona...and He was faithful, as always!

All of these situations were unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but when all heaped on top of one another, when in a big hurry and limited resources available, they seem quite large! The Lord began to show me that even though most things in our life really are much smaller than we make them out to be, He cares for the very smallest, because He cares for us!  He gives us His power, His courage, His resolve to handle no matter what comes our way.  And to handle it with a 'joy that produces laughter', ALL for His glory and honor!  Now, let's go forth and be women that are, "...clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."

Here we go...

I am literally laughing out loud at myself as I write this.  Am I the only person in the world without a blog? Am I so much in the dark ages, so much 'set in my ways' that I am just now bringing myself to fully embrace this 'cyber-world' way of communicating?  I suppose. Or, maybe it's fear.  Fear of not knowing how to do it.  Fear that someone will read what is 'on my mind', snicker to themselves and think, "who cares...why would she take the time to type out her thoughts".  Fear of no one reading.  Fear.  What ever has kept me from this unavoidable task thus far has obviously lost momentum and my desire to tell of the wonderful workings of my Heavenly Father can be contained no longer, for here it is...my very first blog post. Here we go...

The Lord has been teaching me so much lately.  Actually, I believe He has been teaching me this for quite a while, however, it is just now that I have decided to listen. I have recently been captivated by the reality that my love for Jesus, all be it true and real, is lacking.  Lacking in depth, knowledge, abandonment, personal sacrifice and well, just lacking.  Please don't misunderstand me...I love my Savior and I know that His love is real, it is near me, it is in me. For He is near me, He is in me and He is love.  I simply continue to allow myself to be distracted and consumed by the 'stuff' of life...by the busyness of this particular season.  At least I think that is the culprit.  It couldn't possibly be that I am actually lazy when it comes to nurturing my relationship with Him...could it?  I think yes.

My attention has recently returned to a blog that I was introduced to three years ago and as soon as I can figure out how to link other blog pages to mine, this one will definitely be here.  It is a blog by a young women by the name of Katie Davis.  Her story of how Jesus is using her to make His name famous is truly amazing.  I will not go into much detail about it here, but you can google "Kisses From Katie" and you will be able to catch yourself up on what she is doing for the glory of God.  I urge you to do so.  Yesterday, as I was watching a video of Katie being interviewed by David Platt, she told about how, after being away from the US for about a year, she had 'detoxed' herself from material things.  She mentioned that she typically only has two choices for food and as she stepped foot back into an American grocery store there were twelve choices of food just for dogs.  She also made the statement that while being in Uganda, she learned to be totally dependant on God, but as she spent time back in the states she realized how easy it would be to depend on the people and things around her instead of completely on God.

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks!  To hear her say that literally took the wind from my chest.  It is so very true...how easy it is to become so dependant on our circumstances, family, material possessions, social status...earthly things, and in turn not be dependant on God.  How could this reality have been in such plain sight, yet as though walking through a thick fog, has gone unnoticed in my life.  Am I not dependant on God?  Have I not been leaning completely on His love and His Word?  Truth is, no.  I have been waking up, putting my feet to the ground, sometimes going to the Lord in prayer, sometime taking time to read a small bit of His Word and then going through life in my own strength  all the while labeling it "Spirit led".  Humbling. Convicting. Gut check time.

Here is the question that I will be pondering and crying out to the Lord for His answer...it is a question that David Platt posed at the end of his interview with Katie.  "How can I get rid of the clutter in my life that numbs my sensitivity to my need for God?".  Wow!  So simple, yet so profound.  I am confident the Lord will show me this answer.  I am thankful He has been relentless and patient with me as I have taken my own sweet time coming to see this need in my life. I pray that as I resolve to simplify the 'stuff' in my life, focus more on His daily plan for my life and be intentional to seek Him for the answers, I will see and hear Him clearly.  May His name and renown truly be the desire of my heart!

So there it is...my first blog post.  That is what is 'on my mind'. I hope it didn't put you to sleep...unless you suffer from insomnia.  If that's the case, then...you're welcome;)