Sneaky Sneakers

I love buying a new pair of sneakers. Maybe you call them tennis shoes, or running shoes. To-may-to, to-mah-to, right? Where I’m from, we call them sneakers, and a new pair of sneakers was just what I needed. They were clean, hugged my foot nicely, and I was excited to break them in. My old sneakers were, well, old. And dirty and worn. They still worked well, but it was time for an upgrade. Or at least another pair I could switch between to give one pair a rest from time to time. I’ve heard that you are supposed to rotate your shoes and let them rest. Constant wearing will wear them out faster.

So I laced up my new kicks and went for a run. I worked out in the basement with them. I’d wear them while taking a walk. All was good in New Sneaker Land.

Then I injured my foot. I really wasn’t sure how it happened. All of a sudden it was extremely painful. I would limp around the house, and putting pressure on the side of it would shoot pain up my leg. Ok, so I must have overdone it with the exercise or something. I had injured it in the past, in a different part of my foot, so maybe I just aggravated a weak point. Too much pounding of the pavement on my runs. Not that I’m an avid runner, but what I was doing was too much, apparently. So I stopped running and gave my foot some much needed rest. It took a long time to get better, but slowly I could feel a difference. It was finally healing!

One afternoon I was mowing my lawn while wearing my new sneakers. I had just finished when my foot began hurting all over again. Say what?! I wasn’t even running! Just pushing a mower, and then all this pain again. Then I began to connect the dots. I decided to try an experiment. When I didn’t wear my new sneakers, my foot felt fine. And whenever I used them, the pain would begin.

Conclusion—these new sneakers were no good for me! They gave my foot the wrong support and slowly injured me in the process. I was mad that I had wasted money on shoes that I couldn’t wear anymore, but at the same time I was glad I found the source of the problem so I could permanently avoid it.

Sin can be just like my new pair of sneakers. It hides behind a good thing so it can sneak in and kick us down before we realize it. Did you know that Satan loves to be deceitful? It’s basically his calling card. He can take a friendship and create a fueling source of gossip. He can take a preferred music style and make it slowly defeat your spirit. A rightful complaint on your part can grow into deep bitterness. An honest compliment from someone else can become the start of pride in your heart. See what I mean? All these things start out good, but Satan will twist them into something evil. He covers himself with an acceptable facade so he can get a foot in the door.

So how do we combat his influence? How do we keep sin from creeping in? Well, it’s certainly not done in our own power. We go to God and ask Him to guard us.

1.Guard your head. We must be constantly filling our minds with God’s truth so that we can recognize sin before it settles in. Know your scripture, such as this one:

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not.” (I Corinthians 15:33-34a)

2.Guard your heart. Our feelings ebb and flow with the slightest change in circumstance. We must hold onto truth, even when our feelings tell us to doubt God and believe a lie.

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)

Our adversary is looking to destroy us in any way he can. He desires to crush our testimony and crumble church unity. Be aware, my friends. New sneakers certainly aren’t a bad thing, but watch for injuries.

The Peanut Butter Post

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a staple at my house. At least a couple times a week I am assembling PB&Js for my crew, which is no simple feat when this one wants 2 sandwiches, and another one wants it cut in a circle, or a heart shape, or diagonal, or in fours. The possibilities are endless. I suppose I could overrule all these requests and be more efficient in my sandwich-making. But I don’t know. A part of me likes granting their varied requests. It shows their individuality, and I get to show them love by making it their favorite way.

One particular afternoon, I began my routine. I laid out all the bread slices on the counter. Then I dipped into the strawberry jelly and painted half of what was laid out. And I paint carefully too, because you have to get the jelly all the way to the edge. That’s so I can enjoy the crusts from those who opt to throw them away. Who wants a dry crust anyway? As long as it’s got some PB&J on it, I’m good. Then comes the peanut butter. Ooey, gooey, spreadable peanut butter. Yes, I love peanut butter (the creamy, not the chunky). It’s probably one of my favorite foods of all time. Definitely top ten. The layer has to be thick enough so that it weighs down the slice of bread. Anything less is simply not acceptable for this kind of sandwich.

I was nearing the end of my peanut butter jar, and I was still short for one piece of bread. I didn’t really want to open the new jar just for one sandwich, so I turned the jar this way and that to get all of it. I scraped with the knife, but there were plenty of streaks left in the jar. And I still didn’t have enough for the last sandwich. Those PB streaks stared at me from inside that plastic container, daring me to just try to get it all.

And then I had an epiphany. I grabbed a skinny spatula from a kitchen drawer and conquered those streaks! There was pride in each turn of the jar as I victoriously gathered every last bit of peanut butter goodness. Turned out that I had plenty of peanut butter for the last sandwich, plus some extra for swiping on crackers or for dipping apple slices.

I couldn’t help but think that God sometimes deals with us the same way. We claim that we’ve given Him every part of our lives, but He looks and sees that there are plenty of streaks that we haven’t allowed Him to have. We think we’ve given Him enough, but oh, there is so much more left that He can use! So He gets His spatula, turns our jar, and persuasively (and lovingly) gets every last bit of us. If we allow Him, that is. This isn’t a perfect analogy, because God gives us a free will. If we choose to never give our whole being for His glory, then He won’t force us. Because that’s what a loving God is like.

The peanut butter jar didn’t have a choice, but we do. What will you choose today? Will you let God have every last part of you?

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:13)

 

Fill My Cup, Lord

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that goes something like this: you can’t give from an empty cup. Usually it’s applied to moms. The ones who constantly give and don’t make time to take care of themselves. Can I give you a new twist on this old adage? We can’t give from an overfilled cup too well either.

I love the sound of pouring my coffee into my mug. Depending on my mug of choice for the morning, I often pour too close to the brim. I don’t want to leave a drop in the carafe, so I try to fit in every last drop. It’s good to the last drop, right? Why would I want to miss that? Then of course I have to add my sugar, creamer, and my powdered protein. Yup, now I have to slowly lift the cup to my lips to take a few sips before I spill it. Sometimes I can’t even lift it. I have to bend down to the counter and sip ever so carefully.

There are people that are like an overfilled cup of coffee, you know. The ones who work super hard at everything they are asked to do, the ones that can’t say no in the first place when they are asked to do something. The ones with a tender heart that always want to help, and therefore, they feel bad saying no to anyone. So they say yes. And yes, and yes again. Oh, they are saying yes to lots of good things, mind you. They are active, and helping, and serving, and doing God’s work. But when we fill our lives with too many good things and we can’t handle it all, we risk spilling. Staining a surface. Taking time to clean up a mess.

So how do we avoid this risk of overfilling our cup? It’s an easy answer, but we often forget to do it. Let God fill our cup. He knows our capacity. He knows when to say “when.” Let Him guide our choices, because it’s ok to say no sometimes. The good thing may not always be the best thing for us.

May our daily prayer be, “Fill my cup, Lord, for I spill way too easily.”

The Journey Begins

Thanks for reading!

For with God nothing shall be impossible–Luke 1:37