Category Archives: Realizations & Ponderings

Self-explanatory

Really?

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One of my pet peeves is when people forward an emotional story or prayer request, or sensational news story that gets people all riled up and isn’t even true.  It seems we, the human race, are pretty quick to believe what other people say.  Either that or we’re too lazy or careless to find out if it’s true before spreading it around to others.

I’ve had emphatic pleas from friends who read that if you forward this email to 100 people such and such famous company will send you a check for lots of money, using some email tracking program that doesn’t even exist!  I’ve received prayer requests that are no longer valid – either the person was healed, found, or the situation remedied and the request just keeps circulating and circulating.   The fabricated stories about faith are the ones that frost me the most.  I once read an email story about Billy Graham evangelizing with the entire crowd from one of his rallies in New Orleans, many being saved, only to find out that someone made it up.  It never happened.   Continue reading →

Holy Spirit Check

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In staff meeting today my boss gave me a great mind picture of what it is like for us to live in tune with God’s Spirit.  He likened the promptings and guidance the Holy Spirit gives us to a spell check on the computer.  I imagined as I’m going through my day, my mind rolling through thoughts and words, if I pay attention I just might see the little red squiggly line in my mind under something that needs correcting…hopefully before I  speak or act.

Jesus told his disciples when he was about to physically leave the earth that he wouldn’t abandon them but send His Spirit to be with them.  He said, “The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.”   (John 14:26  CEV)

spell-check2I know when I’ve turned in projects or worked on something important on a job, something that would be printed and sent to hundreds of people, I was glad to let the spell-check correct me.  It was a handy little helper.   The Holy Spirit is so much more than that, filling so many roles in my life:  counselor, advocate, intercessor, helper, companion.  I guess I need to pay better attention to Him as teacher/reminder so I’ll catch those helpful “red lines” from God, keeping me on track and in check, especially since I’m representing him to everyone with whom I talk or interact.   If I remember He’s living in my heart and mind all the time and I don’t have to click on “Holy Spirit check”, there will be a lot fewer verbal and behavioral typos.

Holy Spirit, keep me in check.  You know my thoughts and words before I think or speak.  Make me aware of your correcting and give me the grace to accept it.

“Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, LORD…”   Psalm 139:14  CEV

More thoughts from the front row

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Nothing teaches you about God’s nature as a heavenly father like being a parent.  I have learned so much through the different stages of life we’ve experienced so far about his patience, his unconditional love, his desires for us to “succeed” and win, his devotion, his delight in us, his eagerness to protect and guide us, and more.

frontrowEver since my first little baby girl was born I’ve had the privilege of a front row seat.  God graciously invited John and I to be co-directors in the continuing saga of their lives.  It’s been challenging, exciting, funny, sad, frustrating, exhausting, joyful, disappointing, humbling, and wonderful.  No shortage of dramatic girls for the roles of the three daughters in this story.

About 7-8 years ago the scene began changing as we entered the teen phase of parenting.  It started off so smoothly we smugly thought we had it made.  “Piece of cake!  What’s the big deal everyone’s always talking and whining about?  It’s not that different than the last scene.”  And really, compared to many we do have it made.  Our girls are a delight to us, make us proud, fill our lives so much that we don’t want to imagine what it would be like without them.  The last few years have become a bit more challenging however – Continue reading →

Don’t look at the headlights

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I walked out into the warm, humid, early morning air to take my jog for today and headed up the road.  I could tell it was overcast.  Even though it was dark as night, the cloud cover seemed thick and low.  There are two paths I can take in the morning, one heads north toward two nearby neighborhoods, the other east toward a big neighborhood.  Either way, I have to do my warm-up walk by dark woods before I get to sidewalks and houses.  I don’t relish that as the dark woods kind of give me the creeps!   On a clear morning the dawn begins lightening the sky by the time I head back toward home…but I knew it wouldn’t be that way today.

As I walked, the path was barely visible but I know the route well.  I was determined to warm-up at a fast pace and get to the street-light lined street quickly.  Whenever a car appeared, heading my way, the headlights were blinding.  I made the mistake of looking toward them the first time and the path disappeared – the lights being so bright everything else became completely black.  The next time a car drove by I kept my eyes on the path and even though it was barely visible ’til the car passed by, I could still see where I was going.  It made me think of a great devotional I read a few days ago by John Piper about the verses in Matthew 6:22, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.”   I’ve read that verse many times but often thought Jesus had it backwards.  The eye as a lamp?  It gave me a mental image of someone with eyes shining like flashlights on everything around them.  Now that would come in handy on these dark early morning jaunts!   Continue reading →

Unplugged

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Did you hear it?  The wails of three teenagers echoing across the entire state of Indiana when we told them we were having an “unplugged” no cell phone, no facebook trip to see their grandparents in NY this weekend?

John and I decided we’re going to leave cell phones at home (except for his in case of emergency) and not allow anyone on facebook either.  It’s only for five days but you would have thought we asked each of the girls to personally cut off their own arms and forever live in caves as hermits.

We live in a deluge of input, information, communication, entertainment, and technology and it seems to have caused American Christians to become spiritually malnourished, weak, subtly distracted and preoccupied.   I have to admit I have allowed it to make me that way.   When was the last time I sat down just to be quiet?  How about an evening without turning on the TV or sitting down in front of the Internet?  How about going for a walk outside and not taking the iPod?  Continue reading →

The culprit

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Walking and talking – one of my favorite things to do with a friend.  We covered 3-4 miles on a sunny, cool morning and many topics ranging from parenting teenagers, memories, misc. stuff, our parents, church, and faith.   My friend shared something with me that I want to share with you.  She had looked up “discouragement” in a commentary.  The author offered four reasons why we get discouraged as believers: the hardness of the way, the difficulty of the task, the affluence of the wicked, and desires that remain unfulfilled.  These all totally make sense to me and I could easily relate to each one.  The fact that life is often not as we expected it to be, especially when following Jesus, can be discouraging.   To see others who aren’t living for Christ and seem to have so much, or have it easy is discouraging if we let it be.  Going through tragedy, sickness, unemployment, persecution, or any other “trial” can definitely wear on us and discourage us.  For each of these discouragement “triggers” my friend said a Bible verse was listed to show the remedy for each one according to God.  Oddly enough, each verse contained the words, “fear not.” Fear is the culprit!   If you think about a tough circumstance or trial you’ve been through, fear is bound to be involved somehow:  fear of the unknown, fear of things turning out different than we hope, fear that we won’t make it through, fear that we’re inadequate for the task, fear of others’ opinions, fear of not having what we need or want, fear of failing…

1732461-9-just-for-today-i-will-not-be-afraidWhen I don’t fully trust God it shows fear, and that leads to discouragement.  Conversely, when I decide to lean out over the edge of the unknown and fully trust in God, even though I can’t see what’s coming, I have such peace and freedom.

Our enemy, satan, loves to use fear.   Continue reading →

mishmash

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This morning I have so many thoughts, lessons, convictions swirling around in my mind I felt a little overwhelmed as I drove into work.  I talked with God about it but thought it would also help me to put some of them in writing.

I laid out a beautiful sermonette to John last night about how we need to trust the girls and God during these teen years when we can’t really control what happens and we oftentimes have to just sit, watch and pray.  Then today I woke feeling anxious.  God rewound the tape from my “message” last night and played it back right in front of me – the nerve!  Living by my own words is tough today.

If I really trusted Him completely I wouldn’t worry.  So, I’m practicing faith and trust, leaning on Him even though I still feel uncertain.  Sometimes letting go hasn’t been that hard but there are days…

What if my daughters choose ways and lifestyles other than what I hope for them?  Continue reading →

A Changin’

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In the words of my daughter Kaitlin this evening, after we attended camp meeting and I only saw two people I know (!) “Mom, times, they are a changin’ “.  What a true statement.   It’s especially true for me as a mom of three teenagers.

Mimi and girls

It used to be that wherever I went during the day or on the weekends, all three girls piled into the car or van with me, we’d listen to music, sing, laugh, be silly and pal around.  Nowadays they’re usually at work, busy, out with friends, texting friends and boyfriends, on a date, or otherwise occupied.  We have a lot fewer dinners around the table when everyone is present.  It used to always be the “Klotzfive” out on the town.  Now sometimes it’s the “Klotzfour” “Klotzthree” or…gasp…”Klotztwo” – me and John!  Today I went to the pool by myself and had to talk myself out of a pity party.   Continue reading →

The bed bug’s noble purpose

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I’m not sure if the purpose of bed bugs is the same for everyone but God has taught me something through this process of trying to escort these persistent pests out of our house for good.

They are so stealthy and seem to come from nowhere.  Just when we think we’ve killed the last one, steamed every inch of the walls, corners and mattresses, we’ll see one on the wall or way up high, hiding in a paint crack in the edge where the wall meets the ceiling.

It’s become a morning routine for me to wake up, wipe the sleepies out of my eyes, then stand up and survey the ceiling edges all the way around the room.  Any bug spotted will be crushed with a Kleenex.  Then we steam that part of the wall in case there are any of the practically invisible eggs nearby.

For several days we saw none but now we see one or two a day, either in our room or our daughters’ room where they were the worst.

We’ve super-cleaned, we’ve sprayed “Kilz” over the stained areas so that new activity will be easily seen, we’ve vacuumed like crazy, washed our bedsheets over and over…all in an attempt to rid ourselves of this problem once and for all.  We’re so persistent because if we aren’t they will multiply and the problem will be worse and a big pain all over again.

search-heartOne night as I was steaming and scouring my girls’ room for the little boogers, God spoke to my heart and said I should be as diligent about making sure I’ve gotten rid of all the sin lurking in the edges and cracks of my heart.  I have to let God daily survey my heart, crush any sinful “pest” He finds there, and cleanse me again.  I have to search my heart all the time to make sure some bitter attitude isn’t growing in the corner or some small temptation I’ve let remain isn’t crouching in a shadow waiting for an unsuspecting moment to trip me up.

Thank God that His Holy Spirit can see every part of me, into even the tiniest crevice, and that He can wash away EVERY last smudge of sin and make me truly clean.  Thank God that He’s willing to do that time and time again and not give up on me, because I won’t be rid of the pest of sinfulness completely until I go to be with Him in heaven.  What a joy that will be!

I even thank God for the bed bugs, if only for the lesson He’s teaching me, and the reminder they will be each time I see them, to be ruthless about ridding my heart of sin.

“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.”     Psalm 19:12

Not all it’s cracked up to be

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shia“Sometimes I feel I’m living a meaningless life, and I get frightened. … I don’t handle fame well. Most actors on most days don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my way. … Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions. … The good actors are all screwed up. They’re all in pain. It’s a profession of bottom-feeders and heartbroken people.” —23-year-old Shia LaBeouf

When I read this I was so sad. It’s another reminder that outward appearances are so deceiving, and that everyone needs real love. Sometimes we make negative judgments about people that seem from their appearance to be down and out, or dirty, “naughty”, not so smart, irresponsible, etc. I guess we need to be careful not to judge the other way either and assume that someone who looks amazing, handsome, well dressed, is famous, or gets raving reviews is happy and has a good, fulfilling life.

This quote from Shia sounds like a cry for help, a correction to people’s assumptions that actors/actresses, those being stalked by paparazzi, those who are applauded for their talents and looks by the masses, are just as empty inside without God as anyone else. I hate it that he says “If I knew, I’d fill it”. Someone who loves Jesus needs to share God’s love with Shia LeBeouf! Famous people seem far off and unapproachable when it comes to one of us ordinary believers sharing about Jesus…as if their fame and status makes them less likely to listen or want to hear something good and hopeful.

Everyone needs God’s love, no matter how many people have a poster of them in their room, no matter how many movie tickets they sold, no matter how many cities they’re touring, no matter how high up we exalt them. Their heart is the same as mine and yours. Their soul is hungry like mine was before I knew God through Jesus. They feel loneliness that they can’t really explain or escape without the life-giving relationship with their Creator and heavenly Father. I hope God will reach out to Shia today through someone who is a Christ-follower.

I hope God will give the believers in Shia’s life compassion and a wake-up call to share hope and good news. I hope this happens for all the celebrities that are shining stars on the outside and hurting, broken souls on the inside.