My dog has a passion — for smelling bad.

His passion is at its’ height immediately following a bath.  After his outside bathing experience, I walk him around so he can shake, shake and then shake some more.  He’s good with the shaking, but what he really wants to do is ROLL. He’s clean, smelling so good and he is pulling and tugging to get his head down and roll around.  And if it smells horrific, he wants it all the more.

I don’t know if he loves smelling bad or if he just has a passion for rolling around in stinky stuff.    Either way the result is the same — he stinks. Some dogs do tricks, other dogs answer when you call them, my dog stinks — it’s his gift .  (Wonder if that would get us on David Letterman?  Guess we’ll just have to wait for the invention of Smellevision – and that’s a post for a different day.)

He has a passion for smelling bad.  He goes after it with a vengeance.  Doesn’t matter how many times he gets a bath, he’ll find the bad smell and roll around in it.

I want that kind of passion — not for smelly stuff, but for God stuff.  I want to chase after Him with all I am.  I want to find God in everything around me because I know He’s there. Scripture tells me  ”He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” Col 1:17.  I want to roll around in all the God stuff that surrounds me.  I want to cover myself with His aroma.

Some days I do find God in all around me and other days I just roll around in smelly stuff that doesn’t glorify Him in any way.

I want to have a passion for God like my dog has a passion for rolling in smelly stuff.

What is your passion?  Are you rolling around in it?

He’s here!  And I couldn’t be any happier!

(I fixed his hair — his Momma was not pleased.)

Benjamin Vaughn Washburn – 7 lbs 8oz, 20 1/4 inches, and born on 9/12/2011 at 9:44am — less than 24 hours from his Mom’s 25th birthday!

And I think they are both just incredible!  And Dad is pretty great too!

I love the Andy Griffith show.  Do you remember Emmet?  He was the handyman or the Fix-it guy.  If it was broken, Emmet had a solution for you.  If he couldn’t fix it, it was likely beyond help.

I often try to be Emmet to the women I come in contact with.  I listen to their stories and then I just want to ‘fixit’  – I offer up suggestions, ideas and loads of advice.

Recently a young woman shared her troubles and problems with me.  I had a solution for each issue she was facing.

Do this for that.  And do this other for that thing.  And then you just do this.  All will be well.

And in the midst of my Fix-it solutions, it hit me (or maybe it was the Holy Spirit nudging me) — where’s God in all your advice?

He was no where.  I had all the solutions  and trust me, I really don’t.   She didn’t need me to Fix-it, she just needed me to listen.  She didn’t expect me to have all the answers she just wanted to share.

Thankfully I shut my mouth and listened to her.  I shared God’s Word and assured her that He loves her and will never leave her nor forsake her.   I told her I trusted God’s hand in my life and I encouraged her to trust Him, too.  Even when things didn’t make sense.

My default is to fix-it for everyone .  My husband, my girls, my friends and even women who come to me to just share.   And the thing is — I don’t know how to fix it.   I stumble, fall, fail, and mess up on a regular basis.  I just know that Jesus loves me and He’s my Rock and Redeemer and that’s the best Fix-it ever.

After several days in the Grand Tetons we headed north to Yellowstone – and the great town of West Yellowstone.  Oh my, I love this place.  The town is small and has some of the typical tourist-y stuff, but it also has some great fun and funky elements. (Like the old Union Pacific train station that’s now the Courthouse.)

And history – oh the history of this town. I would love to tell you EVERYTHING I learned, but I doubt I get it right so let me just say that West Yellowstone has some great stories.

West Yellowstone was our base as we explored the north part of Yellowstone and what an amazing adventure.

The beauty of this place is breathtaking – and amazing.

And the town was wonderful – slow paced and gracious. The people are not in a hurry –
I think it comes from dealing with seven months of deep snow and cold temperatures.

I thought about how much I see God’s hand in the creation of Yellowstone.  The sky seems bigger and more blue.  The mountains stretch all the way to the heavens and the lakes seem crystal clear – it’s a magical place. I know God’s creation is around me no matter where I am – it’s in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and it’s in the red headed woodpecker that hangs out in the tree by my office window.

His hand is evident in the HUGE and in the tiny.   Sometimes it takes me slowing down to  truly appreciate the amazing the work of His hands..

What has God shown you today?  What beauty is right before you?

I love cruising – and I LOVE cruising with Premier Christian Cruises.  It’s five days of  Christian music, fast new friendships, great food, beautiful ports, incredible speakers, and lots of fun.  I do work, but really it’s more fun than work. I have so much fun connecting with our guests and meeting them face to face. 

I love what I do – but it’s easy to forget that we have a much bigger purpose.  No matter what we do, we are representing Jesus.  Many of the crew on the cruise ship has never known a Christian and I may be the first Jesus follower to connect with this waiter, steward, or server.   It’s a sobering responsibility – we represent Jesus…. let that soak in for a few minutes.

.

Right now I’m sitting on the top deck of the ship  writing this blog post.  I’m on day three of my second cruise in two weeks, and it has been an incredible couple of weeks – fun, exhausting, and incredible.  I’ve witnessed amazing God moments, heard awesome stories of His grace and goodness, and stood in awe of my God who uses this cracked pot of a woman to do His work. 

I’ve seen crew members from countries where the Word of God is forbidden ask for Bibles.  I’ve heard the story of a well-known musician leading a crew member to the Lord. I’ve witnessed great joy and a bit of incredulity as I’ve handed CDs and DVDs to the crew members.  I’m overwhelmed that the Lord grants me such opportunities and I pray that I’m ALWAYS thankful in everything He calls me to do – the fun and the hard.

In all the fun and all the laughter, it’s still about the ONE and ONLY, the author and finisher of my faith, Jesus Christ.

I recently had a little Black & Decker surgery on my jaw.  First, it was a bone graft – apparently the only skinny thing on me is my jaw bone – and then I had two posts installed in my jaw.  There is still another step or two until we reach the end o the journey. 

Anyway, on to my story.  The dentist prescribed some pain medicine since having two screws imbedded into a newly grown jaw bone can some ….’discomfort’ which we all know is code for ‘hurts like you’ve been punched in the mouth by a prize fighter.’  

The bottle of pills read  ‘take as needed’ and I did.   The pills kept me from just passing out from the pain, but once the pain was gone I no longer needed the pills.  I set those pills on a shelf.  I will pull them out if the pain returns, but for now, I’m good.  

How often have I used Jesus ‘as needed?’ How often have I grabbed ahold of Jesus and held on for dear life during the tough times?  How often have I set Him aside when life is good and troubles aren’t knocking?  How easy it is to call on Jesus when I’m desperate for His help.

My prayer is I never set Him aside.  My prayer is to always NEED Jesus.  My prayer is to need him desperately!

Now, this post could be about food because I do struggle with eating when I’m not hungry, but today I’m talking about being spiritually full.

I have attended conferences, retreats, and events.  I’ve led Bible studies, book studies and written devotions.  I’ve consistently fed myself at the spiritual buffet.

I’ve  spent a lot of time, money and resources on ‘filling myself up’ but I never get full.  I keep heading back to that buffet table. 

My pastor taught from the book of Haggai last Sunday –

Haggai is a prophet in the time of King Darius.  The Lord called people out because they lived in houses while His house, His temple was in ruins.

I think about the church of Jesus Christ in America -is it healthy and vibrant?  In some places, YES, but in others, the answer is No.

⁵ Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:5-6

I have but it’s never enough.  I take the Lord’s blessings and do what with them?

I keep looking to finally FIND that one message, verse, conference, concept that will fill me. I’ve been busy filling up at the spiritual buffet and building my  own house while the house of the Lord, His Church, is crumbling. 

I’ve been busy with my own house while many of the ones He loves are going hungry, or without love, or without a safe place to sleep.  I’ve been busy with my own house….

Does this mean I’ll never attend another conference, Bible study gathering or retreat – of course not, but what it does mean is I’ll learn to find balance.  I’ll keep seeking and craving God and His Word for my life, but I will also go out and share the love of Christ with the world.

And I won’t look to be FULL, but to be re-FILLED.  I want to fill up on Him and pour it out. 

I’m praying and pondering ways to make this happen. 

I would love to hear your ideas for pouring out.  Share away!

Charity and Josh showed up at house last Sunday night with a late Christmas present.  Since I’ve been known to give silly, goofy presents I thought that’s what they were up to. 

The present was for both me and Vaughn – when I opened …. I thought what is this?  something for the dog?  a dog shirt? 

And then I pulled it out – a bib!  On my word!! 

Yes, my oldest girl, Charity, is expecting!  I’m beyond thrilled and so is Vaughn.  We cannot wait for this baby to get here, but wait we will and pray and plan and enjoy every moment of this. 

I am so excited about this pregnancy by proxy – I get to enjoy each step of the way, shop for all manner of baby stuff, and watch that baby grow in her belly.  I’ll get the joy of spoiling him or her rotten and then sending her or him home to Mom and Dad. 

All the fun of parenting without all the stress of getting it all right.  I get to love on, hug, cuddle, rock and coo over a baby without having to handle all the other junk.

I’m in the midst of planning my name —

Gran, MeMe, Gigi, Gaga (maybe not), MawMaw (nope), Granny (no!), and from my friend Janet – GranMary! 

So not only am I getting new name, I’m taking on a new role.  This is an incredible blessing! And trust me, I’ll keep you posted on this blessing! 

Plus Jesus. 

Life plus Jesus. 

Me plus Jesus.

This sounds good and for many years I lived this way.  Life with a little Jesus sprinkled in for flavoring. 

I just added Jesus when needed.  If things got a little rough – plus Jesus.  If times got a little scary – plus Jesus.  Makes me think of the recipes that read – add salt to taste. 

I lived as if Jesus was something to spice up my life… or the afterlife.  He was what I did on Sundays and Wednesdays.  He was what I did when I tried to parent well, but He wasn’t my life.  He was an addition to my life.  I wanted to have it all – all my old junk (why in the world I wanted that stuff just boggles the mind) and I wanted my Jesus stuff. 

I learned you can’t have it all without giving it all up.  I had to surrender my life to Him to truly have Him become my life.  And when I did…. oh my, what joy!   

A life in Christ is not a life PLUS Jesus. 

Jesus is the life.  Jesus is MY life. 

for in Him we live, move and exist…Acts 17:28

I love this verse!  It speaks so much in so few words.  It’s a life in Him not plus Him.  It’s in Him I exist.  The very words take my breath away, but they are so true!  He is my very existence.

How often do I consider my walk with Him to be more about tomorrow, than about today? 

I focus so much on what I WILL do in Him that I  miss what He is doing in me. 

And what He’s doing is amazing.  His love and favor just blow me away. He is teaching me to see the world in a fresh light.  It’s an adventure – one that terrifies me and thrills me all at once.   

So, what is the Lord doing in your life today? 

I spent a weekend on a mountain in North Carolina at the gIRL gathering @ Black Mountain.  It was a beautiful mountain.  An incredible place that settled my spirit and allowed me a chance to just breathe in God.

Just a week later and I’m  deep in life again, but the mountain stays with me.

gIRL (girlfriends In Real Life) began as a way to bring online friends together for fun, fellowship and time in the Bible.  God’s plan is always so much bigger than ours.

I wish I could explain what happened on the mountain, but I don’t have the words (shocking, I know).  God did amazing work in the hearts of His gIRLs.  Friendships were formed, sisterhood was strengthened, hearts were opened to His truths and lives were changed.

God moved mightily and when Sunday came, I didn’t want to leave.  Sure, I missed my family, but I didn’t want to leave the peace I’d found on the mountain.  I wanted to stay and soak in more of Him.  I wanted to spend hours digging into the Word of God with my gIRLs,   I wanted to worship the Lord in that amphitheater under the canopy of trees.  I wanted to dodge crashing acorns while singing to Him.

But we had to leave.  We packed up and headed down the mountain and back to life.  But we headed back a bit stronger.  I walked back into life with more knowledge of what it means to be an authentic person.

A week later, I found myself in the same mountains with a completely different group of women.  This group was so much larger, but no more precious than the group of gIRLs from Black Mountain. I watched authentic women and I watched unauthentic women struggle to fit in, be accepted and be a part of the group. I wished all 7000 of them could have a time like we did on Black Mountain.

I was BLESSED to see two of my mountain gIRLs — Heather and Ellen!  And I was such a JOY to hug their sweet necks!

As I drove through the mountains Sunday, I realized that coming down a mountain requires lots of winding and curving left and then right.  You don’t go straight down – you climb up and then down.  And there are signs along the way to keep you on the path.

I need signs like this as I come down the mountain we found with gIRL.   I want to make sure I keep my feet to the course the Lord has called me to – I don’t want to spend time spinning my wheels in the grass.

It’s so easy to miss a curve and get off track as you head down the mountain.  It’s easy to zig when you really should zag. And it’s real easy to do when you don’t have any signs.

I’m holding on to my signs –

today my sign:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
(2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

I’m focusing on the treasure of God in my life – that He is the treasure and I’m the cracked, chipped clay jar.

What about you?  What signs are keeping you on the road?