AuburnChick's Adventures

The other night, I went out with a few friends…a rare event for this homebody.

At various points during the many conversations that occurred that evening, it was said, “She’s the good one…” a reference to me.

I have to admit that I was embarrassed.

Why?

I was embarrassed because I know myself all too well, I’m afraid, as do those who know me best…the Mr. and my own children.

When I got home, I told the Mr. about the conversation, and he said, “You just can’t accept someone telling you that you’re good, can you?”

Nope.

I can’t.

It’s not because I’m an overachiever.

That’s really not it.

It’s just that I know the things I think and my past actions (and the intentions that have fueled those actions).

I have very high standards for myself, and when I don’t live up to those standards, which, in my opinion, is quite often, I judge myself…

Harshly.

That’s why I have a difficult time accepting words like those my friend spoke the other night.

Although I am very careful about the “me” I present to the world, I know who I am when I am not around others.

Of course, I know I’m no different from anyone else.

We all have faults, and I guess the world would be in total chaos if everyone didn’t exhibit self-control…especially in the public arena of life, eh?

Still, ultimately, when I heard the phrase, “the good one,” I could not help but think that there was and IS only ONE good ONE…Jesus.

I cannot even compare myself to Him, who was perfect in thought and deed.

And thus, I feel so unworthy of my friend’s words.

I’ll tell you a humbling story.

One day a few weeks ago, I rang up my friend, Barb, and shared something I’d noticed…something that was, in all honesty, poetic justice.

I cannot share details because I’m not stupid in that way (I’m stupid, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I do use my brain).

My observation, though, was twinged with a bit of devilish delight, I’m afraid…which was not lost on Barb, who’d been privy to the back story.

I told Barb, “I’m so bad for this, eh?”

To which she replied, “Naw…it just means that Jesus ain’t done with you either.”

And there it was in a nutshell.

Though most people think of me as a sweet, naive gal…a major overachiever…I’m not like that through-and-through.

Oh sure, you may not see me involved in drama, because I refuse to participate in stupid shenanigans.  I’m getting too old for high school stuff.

The drama in my life mostly exists within my mind and my soul as I constantly self reflect and do battle with my own thoughts.

Those battles sometimes rear their ugly heads…but mostly in the presence of my loved ones and not the public-at-large.

I’m very much a sinner who is very much grateful that Jesus, the ONLY GOOD ONE willingly took my sins upon Himself and died for me so that one day, I can face God but not endure His wrath for my sins.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Christianity | 2 Comments »

Yes, I know I already posted an entry for today; however, I went to church and was inspired this morning.

My pastors are beginning a series that will take us through the book of Judges.

For those of you not familiar with the Bible or, more specifically, the Old Testament, the Old Testament is about the Israelites, God’s chosen people, who constantly fell short of His expectations despite the incredible miracles He performed to free them from the bondage their sin repeatedly put them under.

It’s going to be interesting to hear what my pastors share each week, and I look forward to learning how to apply the truths in Judges to my everyday life.

During the music portion of the service, I was moved by one song in particular…Jesus Paid It All (O Praise the One).

Perhaps I like this song so much because it takes me to my days of growing up in a small-town Baptist church where we sang the old fashioned hymn  Jesus Paid It All during many a frequent altar call.

This song goes through the salvation story in such a simple but beautiful way.

As we sang, I began thinking about those around me who either refuse to give their hearts over to the Lord or are blinded by the erroneous teachings of their own religions.

There can be no denying that our hearts seek after reconciliation.

With what, exactly, is one of the big questions that unbelievers wrestle with.  How to execute a reconciliation is the other big question for unbelievers.

I wonder if these people really want to be reconciled, though.

It comes at great cost…giving up yourself to One who is Greater.

The Israelites struggled with this question.

Sure, they wanted God but how willing were they to give up control…totally submerge themselves in Him?

For the Israelites of the Old Testament, this required a bigger leap of faith than we realize.  They didn’t have the New Testament in front of them.  They didn’t know the end of the story…that Jesus would ultimately redeem the people from their sins.

Most unbelievers in today’s world can’t use the excuse of not having heard of Jesus.  We live in a culture that wages battle against the name of Jesus and what He represents.

Thus, like the Israelites, we live in a fairly godless word, where morality is at an all-time low, led by godless leaders.

This morning, Tom, my pastor said something that really struck me.

He said that while we are sinning, God sometimes gives us what we want.

That’s not necessarily a good thing.

We want to live godless lives, He gives us godless leaders.

Look at Israel’s history.

Look our ours.

Tom said something to the effect of, “If you want godliness, God will give you Godly leaders.”

Hmmm.

It begs the question that we should all ask ourselves (I include myself in this)…what do we really want…in our lives…for our world?

I want to lead a life more closely aligned with God’s Word.

I want to live in a country that has a Christ-following leader…who shows his devotion to the One and ONLY Lord through the decisions he makes in his own personal life and in whatever political office he’s held or is holding.

I rarely get political on my blog, and I’m not going to push any particular candidate.

The only reason why I’m mentioning it is because the words I heard today touched me on a personal level.  The words I heard challenged me to be more purposeful about what I desire…the decisions I make and the decisions of others…decisions I might or might not choose to support.

Food for thought.

Here’s the song we sang today in church.

May it speak to your heart as it did to mine, and may it lead you to either pray for your own salvation or for the salvation of those you know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EVco7eba0

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Christianity | Leave a comment »

It’s funny how one little key can unlock so much truth.

This point was driven home yesterday at school.

To better understand what I’m talking about, I think I need to give you some background.

On Tuesday, a situation happened during my fourth period class.  I was in a meeting, so what happened was beyond my control.  I sincerely doubt that, had I been there, the situation could have been avoided.

In the process, my bathroom key was taken by a student who is not one of mine.

Now, let me explain that student bathrooms at my school are kept locked.  Within a couple of months of school starting, every teacher had been given a key for the bathrooms (boys/girls) nearest to his/her classroom.

I zip-tied mine to a small, green flyswatter that I got from my local pest control company.  I’d gone in to pay my bill when I noticed a cup of them on the counter, branded with the company’s logo.

Each teacher has a unique bathroom pass.  I’ve seen everything from a frisbee to a football.

I’ve guarded my key like a watchman guards Fort Knox.

The key only disappeared once, and that was when a student put it in a different place in my room.

Until yesterday…

When that situation occurred…

That I had no control over…

And later overreacted about…

And regretted…

And apologized for…

And talked to my sister and God about…

And gleaned great understanding about myself in the process.

This morning when I walked into my classroom, I saw the empty hook where the key used to hang, and though I was still a little annoyed, I’d seen the bigger picture and was determined to focus on that and not let Satan throw me off of my game.

First period came and went, and nobody went to the bathroom.

Hey, I thought, maybe NOT having a key is good.  I have an excuse not to let kids leave the room (let’s face it…REAL emergencies are one thing…most people CAN hold it).

Third period rolled around, and the kids quickly began asking for the key.

Tough tooties, I told them.  The key had gone missing.

I took attendance, making a special note of one of my female students who wasn’t there.

She came in tardy and handed me something that was wrapped in several pieces of notebook paper and stapled closed.

She walked back to her desk, looking over her shoulder the entire way.

I wondered what it was as I eagerly tore through the papers, not bothering to remove the staples.

My student ambled back to my desk (everyone else was reading silently).

“Uh, Mrs. AuburnChick, you really should read the paper.”

Um, okay…guess I messed that up, I thought, as I tried to piece the papers together while still unwrapping the “gift.”

My curiosity about what was inside won out, and I said, to myself, the heck with what was written.

I held my breath as I kept unrolling the paper…

Scarcely daring to breath.

Could it be??

But how in the world??

Sure enough.

When I finally got to the package’s innards, this was inside…

I looked up at my student in surprise, and she was grinning from ear to ear.

Then she told me her story.

She was in the hallway when she saw a boy holding a green flyswatter.

“Hey!  That’s my teacher’s key!” she said.

I interrupted her story by asking if he gave it to her.

“No,” she said.  “I took it from him.”

heehee

That’s my girl.

I don’t know what happened to the flyswatter.  It wasn’t attached to the key when she gave it to me.

I suspect that the two made a deal that he could keep the swatter, and she would return the key to me.

I didn’t care.

I had my key.

I jumped out of my seat and wrapped my arms around this precious child, chanting over and over, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Yes.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy.

But really, it was actually a big thing to me.

I felt, in that moment, that God was smiling down on me…chuckling the whole time…enjoying what He had orchestrated.

I felt that this was God’s way of saying, “Hey AuburnChick.  You made progress yesterday.  You let go by realizing what was really important.  And because you did, I’m going to give you what you THOUGHT was important.”

There are people in this world who doubt the existence of a God who is personally interested and involved in our lives.

I’ve never doubted.

Not that He’s there (although I have questioned the “whys” of a situation or two).

God is REAL.

God reaches out to us…

Especially when we let go of the things that are keeping us from knowing His truths, however great or small those may be at the moment.

Some people may laugh off something like this.

Not me.

Though it was one small key, it was yet another BIG moment in my life when God showed me, in a very tangible way, that He loves me…that He knows every thought I have…every worry…every doubt…every angst.

Thank you, Lord.

All glory and honor to You.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Christianity | 3 Comments »