Author Archives: therealmimi

One step closer to hope

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SPOILER ALERT:  This post contains details about the movie “Devil” currently in theaters, story by M. Night Shyamalan.

Do you believe in the devil?  If so, what do you think about him?  Or what fables have you heard about him?  I’ve always wondered where the image of a little red guy with a greasy mustache, pointy tail and a pitchfork came from.  There really aren’t many details about him in the Bible that tell us who he is other than a fallen angel, thief, prince of darkness, father of lies, and deceiver.  Jesus said the devil only aims to do three things:  to steal, kill and destroy  (John 10:10).  Peter warned us, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  I Peter 5:8

M. Night Shyamalan uses that verse from Peter as a springboard to tell a story about sinners and their fate.  Although it’s fantasy, there are some truths in the movie, truths that won’t leave me alone today. Continue reading →

A day to ourselves

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Good morning!  I slept in as long as I could, being a tried and true morning person.  When I see sunlight streaming in windows I can hardly stay in bed any longer.  I’m trying to decide what to do first.  You see, John is off today and Krissy is away at a student conference so we have the day all to ourselves!  No agenda!  No plans yet.  I’m so silly that I almost get anxious thinking what we should do because I don’t want to waste it.  I’ve been updating categories and such on my blog and while reading through old posts was reminded so many things God’s been teaching me the last few years.  One in particular struck me that I should let God make the plans today.  I think I’ll go for a walk, no ipod or anything, and just put myself out there.  Here’s this day, God.  Here’s this time with you and with my husband.  Make some good plans for us.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE:  God told me to just enjoy this day He’s given me and enjoy my husband.  No guilt over needing to do something, just enjoy.  That sounds good to me!

Know your enemy

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Someone I dearly love has been wrestling with lies from the enemy and shared more openly with me tonight about it.  As I listened I got mad, furious that he would torment her and give her such ideas, ideas to harm herself.  I reminded her that he doesn’t care about her and she doesn’t have to listen.  She said she needs a miracle.  The beautiful thing is that we serve a God who does miracles all the time.  Read this and be encouraged:

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(I posted this on my old blog a few years ago – I want to post it again)

Our spiritual enemy wants the opposite of what God wants for each of us. He will use lots of different tactics to try to drag us away and turn from God.

In order to defend yourself or even have a chance at defeating an enemy, you must know about the enemy. Here are a few things you need to remember about our spiritual enemy, the devil: Continue reading →

Connecting

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I’m in the middle of my week-long social media fast and so far, so good.  I do miss it, miss that community I feel a part of.  I realize that it’s a habit for me to tweet a lot because whenever things happen or I have a thought I want to share with someone I reach for my phone thinking, “I should tweet that!” and then I remember that I’m not using twitter right now.  I also feel like I don’t know as much of what’s going on in my friends’ and family’s life because I often see on facebook where people are going, what they’re dealing with, and how they feel.  In fact, a day or so ago my sister sent me an email (something I’m still using) and said, “Hey!  What’s going on? John just put on twitter that 3 churches are interested in him?  I need details!”  And I replied, “So do I!  I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  Continue reading →

High Points

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When I was a youth leader years ago, we used to open our time together, after playing a silly game, by sitting in a circle and taking turns telling our high and low points from the day.  It was a neat way to get a glimpse into what was on each other’s hearts, good and not so good.  Well, I’d like to share a few high points.   No need to talk about low ones – I think if I don’t give them any attention they’ll fade from my memory anyway, right?

When my youngest and I walked in to the church tonight we were surprised to see twice as many kids in the student auditorium as usual and the buzz was electric.  Energy was practically resonating out of the doorway.  High points ahead, I could tell.  I decided to stick around and see what was going to happen.  Continue reading →

Oh, to be like Gumby

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My freshman year roommate was sweet as can be but decided after living with me for a year that she wanted to switch to someone else.  One of the reasons that surfaced was that I moved the furniture of our room around all the time.  She would come back to the room at night and the stuff would be in a different place.  I’m guessing that wasn’t fun in her opinion. Especially if she walked in without turning on the lights.  Of course, she never told me while I was doing it so I just kept up my quirky habit in ignorant bliss.  Now that I think about it, I probably wouldn’t have been so hip on that either if I was her.  She did have bruises on her knees quite a bit.

I love to move furniture.  It feels like a fresh start or redecorating without having to do a big project or spend money.

I changed my major three times.

We have changed addresses at least 8 times since we got married. Continue reading →

It’s going to be good

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I don’t know what’s ahead tomorrow; don’t even know what’s ahead in a few hours or two minutes from now.  But it’s going to be good.

It may be something different from what I plan.  It may hurt.  It may make me laugh.  I might be overjoyed or concerned, scared, relieved, bewildered or surprised but I belong to a good God so it’s going to be good.  Good doesn’t necessarily mean “happy” or comfortable or even pleasant.  There’s a deeper good that God knows and wants to give.

My God who keeps His promises.  My God who loves and loves and loves.  We can’t out-give Him.  He is good.

Sadly, the hard stuff of life can sometimes cause me to see God as indifferent, angry, or unkind.  What if instead I saw Him as He is:  a wholly devoted, attentive, compassionate Dad who can relate to how I feel in every moment.

Have you ever bought a gift for someone and you know it’s exactly what they want and waiting until it’s time to give it to them is almost unbearable?  You just can’t wait to give it to them because you know how happy they will be and you want to make them happy because you love them.  God probably has to restrain Himself from bowling us over with revelations, blessings, and knowledge of outcomes because it’s for our good, because it’s not time yet or we’re not ready to receive what He has for us yet.  I think He can hardly wait to help us and show us all that He has planned.  I imagine it’s especially hard for Him when He has to remain silent, watching while we cry out, all so that we will search more, grow more, and become stronger.

Sometimes when talking with friends about things I don’t understand we say that when we get to heaven we can ask God about it.  Maybe then He’ll finally show me what it was all about or why certain things happened.

You know what?  I don’t think I will care at that point!  When I see Him face to face – the One who somehow shrunk His vastness down into the tiny, frail body of a human baby and grew up among the limited, common folks He Himself made out of dust, and then actually gave his life up for all of us because of unrelenting love – I think all I will be able to say is “thank you.”

All the stuff that happened here will be wiped from my memory and won’t matter anymore.  All that will matter is that it drove me to Jesus and helped me get home.

It’s going to be so good.

“…open your eyes and see—how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.”  Psalm 34:8  The Message

“You bless all of those who trust you, LORD.”  Psalm 40:4  CEV

Not sure I wanna go there again

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She stood there for what seemed like an hour, hesitating, looking at the guy at the bottom of the ramp urging her to go for it, then back at me, then down at the skateboard she stood on perched on the edge.  I could tell her heart and mind were working at 100 mph trying to decide what to do.  She wanted to be a skater and had pretty much mastered the horizontal, flat ground skating. Now she was trying to learn to “drop in”: when the skater presses their front foot down on the board and rides down the steep curvy ramp. The idea is to stay on the skateboard of course and keep going once you’re on level ground.  She had attempted dropping in on the smaller ramp at least 15 times, each time wiping out and landing flat on her tailbone – the one place with no protective padding. Now she was perched on the big ramp but not so sure.  Continue reading →

“Thou Shalt be Thankful” Thursday

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I think on Thursdays I’ll post thankful stuff.  How does that sound?  Care to join me?  It never hurts to remember to be thankful.  It sure turns the heart around like nothing else.

I heard on the radio this morning that women tend to complain more than men, almost 3 times as much.  Really??  One of my friends joked that information probably came from a man.  Maybe it’s just because women are more verbal.  I’d like to think that anyway!  It was a good little wake-up call for me today, however.  I want to spend the day without complaining – not once.

My parents were a lot of fun and I remember, particularly during meals, if one of us complained they said we could cook dinner from now on.   When we heard that we’d say, as convincingly as possible, “Oh, what I meant to say is that this dinner is delicious – exactly how I like it!  Thanks, Mom!”

I remember singing a little Bible verse song written by Steve Green with our girls when they were little, “Do everything without complaining.  Do everything without arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God.”  They just loved it when I did that and it helped for about 15 minutes.

Everything?  Without whining or complaining?  That’s tough.   Sometimes complaints just kind of come out without me realizing I’m complaining.  It seems to be the opposite of thankfulness, so maybe that’s why God gave that guideline.  Complaining is a way of saying “What you gave me is less than what I want or entirely NOT what I want.”

Thankful Thursday has begun.  Maybe if I practice this no complaining, being thankful thing enough it will cross over to the other days, too.

What are you thankful for, right now, today?

Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.  Philippians 2:14-15  NLT