Zany for Z-Straps

Are you a part of the Z Strap craze? I myself knew nothing of it until Cooper informed me that he just had to have a pair, which he decided after spotting them on his cousin Tyler's feet. I ask you, how does a 4-year-old have shoe envy already? We are doomed! Anyway, when his grandparents heard of his "need" they promptly escorted us to the local mall so they could purchase Coop his very own pair. You should have seen him when he found out what we were doing. You would have thought I fed him sugar cubes for breakfast. He was either running, jumping, or screaming the entire morning.

As we arrived at the shoe department of JC Penney's, he made a bee line to the Sketchers and found himself the perfect pair of z-straps. They were black. And had lights. Ugh! Thank God they didn't have a pair that fit him. After trying on a few more models, we found a pair on which we could all agree and that had nary a light. Thank You, Jesus. He, of course, insisted on donning his new kicks out of the store, and I had to admit, they were good lookin'. Coop can make just about anything look cute but that's beside the point. Here's the pair we decided on.















They don't look like they have super powers, do they? I know. . .I thought they appeared common myself, but according to Cooper, they harness all of the power in the universe and make him stronger, quicker, and a much better jumper. Magic shoes (That was my Forest Gump voice again. Italics equals Forest.) In between time trials from one store to the next to clock his increased speed, he would look up at me and say, "Mommy! Look how high I can jump!" He firmly believes that when he slips his cute little feet into those shoes he is more powerful than when he is sporting commonplace sandals. For him, it's simple. The advertisements say these shoes make him more powerful, so it must be so (brilliant super hero marketing, by the way).

Wouldn't it be something if we believed God's truths so simply and thoroughly? What if we actually took Him at his word and acted on it? It's easy to say we believe Him, but our actions prove what we really embrace as truth.

What has God been telling you? I'll share mine with you just to get your brain juices flowing. I have been battling with God over whether or not to have another child. We had settled on stopping after Cooper and had peace about it, but recently I have been plagued by questions like, "What if I heard God wrong?", "Will he be lonely?", "Are we depriving him?", and "Will he be okay?" I just couldn't get it through my thick skull that having only one child, though uncommon, is just fine if it's what God has ordained. After driving myself mad with questions of the unknown, I had to decide. Either I was going to believe God on this or not. I could either take Him at His word and trust Him enough to walk it out, or question Him and take it into my own hands. And we all know how that usually turns out.

So, I'll ask it again. What has God been telling you?

That you are scandalously loved despite your failings?

That you CAN get through this tough time if you stick with Him?

That your marriage IS salvageable and can be turned into a loving relationship?

That your prayers are heard and important?

That you can be victorious?

What if you acted on those truths? How would your life look different? I've decided to trust God on this only child thing and see all the wonderful things He has planned through it. Why don't you give it a shot, too? Trust Him, smash through those fears, and walk it out. You just might discover you have magic shoes, too!

Father God, help us to believe you. Help us to hear clearly what you are saying to us and enable us to believe you enough to act on it. We love you, amen.

Eat Your Veggies!

My son almost threw up in his plate tonight. Let me tell you, it does wonders for a novice cook's self-esteem. I think we can all admit in this family that cooking is not my strong suit; in fact, I don't even think I own this suit. What I own is a cheap knockoff you may find on Harwin in Houston. Anyway, I'm on a new kick lately. I've decided (notice it's "I" and not "we") that we need to be living a healthier lifestyle as a family. I'm trying to teach Cooper habits that are "good for our bodies". So far, we've only addressed our food and media consumption; we'll get to the exercise later. Why exercise now when you can do it later? I always say! We're limiting our t.v./computer/electronic times because it's "not good for" our family to be engrossed in activities that stifle communication. Amazingly, Cooper is on board with this most of the time. When I explained that Mommy won't be spending so much time on the computer either, he was much more willing to give up some of his Leapster time. However, this tactic did not work so well tonight as I was trying to re-introduce broccoli to my sweet angel.

"Okay. . .let's all eat a bite of broccoli together! Yey! This is going to be so fun! Ready? Go!" You would think I asked the boy to eat a handful of dirt. He was not fooled; he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. He quickly refused the bite and stated emphatically, "I will NEVER eat vegetables!" Lou then decided that he would "help" him out by feeding him the minute bite of greens himself. Wow. . .not a good idea. This is when we almost saw Cooper's chicken and potatoes for a second time. At first, I thought, "He must really not like broccoli. I cannot believe it made him gag!" But as Lou sent Coop to the Time Out Chair, he informed me that the morsel had not even made it into Coop's mouth. He had immediately stuck out his tongue and pretty much gagged himself at the mere thought of consuming something green. He had not even had a chance to taste it! Adamantly against broccoli. Note taken.

You know, maybe if Cooper would have just given it a chance, he might have seen that this particular vegetable was not bad. Maybe he would have even liked it.

Aren't we like a 3-yr-old refusing our veggies sometimes? God is calling on us to experience his goodness; I mean, really experience it by making our relationship with Him personal and real. Yet, we fail to do so.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

Just as veggies are essential for the nourishment of our bodies, the LORD is vital to our emotional and spiritual health. Simply put, He is good for us. However, we continue to starve ourselves of the health He provides. Sometimes we're not even giving Him a chance to satiate us at all. We're figuratively sticking out our tongue before the veggie is making it in the mouth. Maybe you're just too busy to spend time with Him every day. Maybe, like me, you choose to do other things (like sleep) instead of getting up to do your quiet time. Possibly, you know that you need to go deeper with Him, explore Him a bit more, but you're simply refusing to do it. But all we're doing when we do this is weakening ourselves. God promises to give us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3); are we taking Him up on the offer?

Ladies, let's get on a steady diet of Diety. Just like our bodies get rundown quickly with no vitamins and minerals, our souls do the same without God. He is our source for everything we could ever need. Let's take Him at His word and taste and see that He is good.

Father, thank you that you are everything we need for full living. We are sorry for our spiritual laziness; help us to exert the extra effort to get daily nourishment from the Bread of Life. We love you, Amen.

Holy Moses! Part 2

Hello again! Last week, we talked a little bit about Moses and his reaction to his past in the face of a big calling from God. I want to explore the moment God revealed Himself through Moses’ staff a tad more. If you’ll remember, we likened Moses’ shepherd’s staff to his former life of sin. Just as God used the staff to glorify Himself not only to Moses but later to the Hebrews and Egyptians, He wants to use our past sin to do the same in us and in our world. We asked the question, “How does God want to use your past to affect the world around you?” You might have noticed that in answering this question you were faced with the requirement of remembering some old wounds. In having to do so, you might have reacted like Moses did when God asked him to focus on his staff.

“The LORD said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.” Ex. 4:3

Often, our first reaction when we are forced to think about old hurts and mistakes is to shut down the thought process and run from it. Who wants to brood over that stuff? Why bring intentional depression upon ourselves? The truth is we are not meant to feel eternally downcast when we rehearse our past; God desires for us to find healing from it. Check out what He says in Isaiah…I love it!!

“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Isa. 61:4

Yes, our ruins may be ancient, our hurts and mistakes haunting, but God desires restoration, not avoidance. There is a saying that goes, “You cannot heal what you do not acknowledge.” We must look it in the face, bring it to God and let Him heal it. This will look different for everyone. Depending on what’s looming in your past, counseling might benefit you. But, make sure that the good doctor is pointing you towards Christ. He is our only true Healer. Look what happened with Moses when God commanded him to deal with the snake.

“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.” Ex. 4:4

No doubt the snake was frightening, but the truth was, in the presence of God, Moses had mastery over it! He grabbed that thing by the tail and put it in its rightful place: submission. The truth about your past is if you have Christ living in you, you have mastery over your former mistakes and pains! The enemy would love for you to believe the lie that you will never gain victory over them, but plainly and simply, that is a lie. God promises over and over in His word that when we seek Him, we will be healed and have victory and freedom. THAT is the truth. Choose to believe it.

We must come to the place where we decide that living behind prison doors of insecurity, discontent, or fear are no longer good enough. We are the people of God, the King of kings, and we WILL act like it. We will not run in fear from our pasts; we will stand, look them in the face, and just like Moses' snake, put them in their proper place of submission. We will trust that God knew what He was doing then and continues to be in control presently. The enemy has no right to stake any sort of claim over your life. You have already gained the victory. Now ask God to help you walk in it.

"I will walk about in victory for I have sought your precepts." Psalm 119:45

Father, thank you for your unmerited favor and freedom. Although you have made us free, it is sometimes so difficult to believe and live out. Help us. Thank you that you desire to heal us from past hurt and that no past is beyond your loving grasp. We love you.