Lessons from a cat...

What do you get when you cross a dumpster at the Aeschliman farm...a wild Tom cat...and empty peanut butter jar?

Yes. This is a real-and this cat really did this to himself. This poor Tom cat apparently crawled into our dumpster and found some choice dining. Crazy. While sporting his new attire-he crashed into buildings--flopped--flipped--rolled--jumped in a futile attempt to rid himself of his newly found identity. (...it was actually pretty funny!!) And folks-the jar wasn't coming off no matter what that cat tried. Tommy needed some outside help if he was going to ever catch the next meal. It took 3 attempts by Keri to get this face mask off of this furry feline. I am proud to say--he appears normal and probably is busy re-populating our neighborhood. (sorry.) And yes-he still is snacking in our dumpster--hopefully a bit more wisely.

God has a way of giving me some fairly crazy visual aides to help me in my walk...I guess he knows what works with me. Apparently a dumpster diving cat with a craving for Peter Pan extra creamy helped me to understand Ephesians 1: 1-6. (...check that passage out!) 

Identity. We all chase something that will define us...make us unique...always wanting to be different than everyone else. WE want to matter. A passion. A mission. A calling. A testimony. You name it. We chase it whether it is good or bad.

" We try to control our image, since what is inside feels impossible to fix." 

~Jennie Allen (Chase) 

That is true--and...most of the time we end up looking just as ridiculous as my dumpster diving cat. 

We dig around in the worldly dumpsters hoping for a morsel to satisfy.
We get a taste of something...something yummy...and then we are stuck. 
We can't move like we are meant to move.
A wrong identity gives us a dangerous world view. 
Our vision is blocked-we are on a collision course...and if we keep it up long enough...it could kill us.
Unless we have outside Help.

Maybe if we could grasp what transpired at the cross--we wouldn't be so inspired to chase the wind.

Transformation only happens when I begin to grasp the depth that Love had to go to save this sinner.


"For those of us who know Christ, we stand on the unchanging reality that we have been so loved by our God that He purchased us with the blood of His Son. See, we have worth, but it doesn't come from within us--it comes to us from the One who made us." ~Jennie Allen (Chase)

I walked away from Tommy with a profound thought.

I can just be me. 

I don't need to be someone else.

I look pretty stupid when I chase after things that are a temporary fix.

I don't define me. God does.

Ephesians 1:1-6 says that I am 

adopted.

loved.

accepted.

holy.

 blessed.

All because of what Jesus did for me.

Jesus died for the real you...not some future version of you that is new and improved...not some superwoman who has it all together. Jesus died for the real you...the messy you...the broken you. God has abundant grace to pick you up and give you a new identity.

God is for you.

He is not against you.

I CAN'T GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD...AND THE PICTURE OF THAT CRAZY CAT...and how much I want to know my worth in Christ-believe it with my whole heart--and then live like it.

AND I AM ON FIRE!
I AM CHASING MY GOD!
I AM CHASING HIS IDENTITY FOR ME!
AND BOY IS IT A BEAUTIFUL SOUND...CAN YOU HEAR HIM CALLING YOU TODAY?

Drops in the Ocean by Hawk Nelson

Crank up the tunes and praise

Him for who He is!

Feel free to check out my other posts on the same topics!

  Identity Crisis

Chaff

When the Hurt and the Healer Collide

Little Places

Dirt and the Farm Wife

Confidence in...who? 

Calmer of the Storm

Trusting Without Borders

I've been thinking about what God is wanting from for me in 2015. 

then I read this blog post this morning...

TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS...

and I realized that (once again) ...it isn't about me... OH-imagine that?!

"It isn't that we have a TRUTH problem; it's that we have a TRUST problem. We don't really TRUST what we know to be TRUE." ~Arabah Joy

SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, HERE?! 

anxiety that chokes...

fear that smothers...

pasts that don't let go...

and futures that look bleak.

depression that hangs on...

failure that keeps us down...

uncertainty that weights us down...

unhealthy life choices.

grief that overwhelms.

pain that stabs.

guilt that covers.

shame that hides us...

patterns of sin

truth.trust.

i can fill my head with all the truth...
i can stuff scriptures in my brain all day...
read all self-help articles...
chat with others about issues...
but it really boils down to one thing.

DO. I. TRUST. GOD. AT. HIS. WORD.

Do I really know it to be true in my life?

That God DOES really have things under control...

That my future is secure...

That He loves me enough that He won't let me go...

That my eternal security doesn't depend on my performance--but on Christ alone.

DO. I. TRUST. IT.

DOES. MY. LIFE. REFLECT. IT.

So-I dug out a bracelet that my kids made for me a LONG time ago...

and I'm taking the 40 day challenge. 

For the next 40 days I am going to learn how to TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS... And I am trusting that I will loose myself and find that Jesus will always be enough.

Feel free to click 

Arabah Joy's 40 promises 

read the post

print off the scripture list

and see what God is doing!

A Woman's Hurdles...

Competition and Comparison ... the 2 things ALL women struggle with. We want to be perfect. Gals, we are killing ourselves and those around us. 

As we look into the topic of "sadness" in the Jennie Allen study this week--boy-oh-boy does this message hit home. 

We get 

depressed 

angry

 sad 

disillusioned 

because we

compare

and 

compete

with others...

WE

destroy

defame

degrade

others

because we must preserve

a false sense of 

identity.

it.

has.

got.

to.

stop.

we. are. stuck. in. it...and it is choking the life out of 

-our children

-our husband 

-our friends

-our churches

the list could be endless...

not to mention--it is choking the life out of us.

EXPECTATIONS. UNMET.

dreams. unfulfilled.

loss.

rejection.

hurt.

so we lash out...

because we don't know how to love.

Oh, God...

 HELP. US.GET.UNSTUCK

When the Hurt and the Healer Collide

Trust is the topic-and boy, it is a tough one to talk about today. Roots grow deep and the pain goes deeper. There are so many areas of mistrust...so many areas that need God's touch of healing.

Hurt me once-shame on you!
Hurt me twice-shame on me...
...and no matter what our circumstances are, we carry the shame around us like a wet heavy blanket that weighs us down and smothers the life right out of our living.

Abuse...sexual, physical, emotional.
If you were a victim-it was not your fault.
You did nothing to make it happen...no matter what anyone else said.

I worked for Children's Protective Services for 4 years...I saw it first hand. Little lives physically torn and mentally scarred. Babies physically died from sexual abuse in the county next to ours... A child in our county is physically blinded for life because of the brutality of a man. Another girl bore a child from her abuser...a boy lost all of the skin of his back because Dad got mad...that's real life. Those were the "worst" cases...there were hundreds more. Little boys and little girls...helpless.

Where is God when that happens?

My only offering...
God was there-he was weeping, too.
God was there-knowing your pain.
God was there-grieving the loss of innocence.
God was there-and his anger is kindled toward your perpetrator.
God was there-and He wants to heal your sexuality & your mind.
God was there-and He will right the wrongs that have been done.
God was there, sweet one.
God was there, holding your breaking heart.
God in his mercy saved you-brought you out of that horrible place. You are alive today and still breathing.
God in His infinite Judgment will have his vengeance on the one who did that to you.
That man...that woman...they not only offended you...they offended God.
And God is a God of Justice and his Word says that He is perfect in that Justice.
God is a defender of the weak and helpless.
And God is going to take up this fight and finish it for you.

trusting is a huge issue if you have scars from your past. Reaching out to a counselor, pastor or mentor can start the process of rebuilding trust issues.

There is a strange place...where the hurt and The Healer collide.
Learning to take every awful thing to the feet of Jesus and allowing him to heal YOU is beautifully painful. When your knees bend and the hurt from abuse is surrendered--forgiveness flows and You can be made alive...even though a part of you is broken. He is in the business of redemption..and sweet one...with God on your side you can trust again-you can live again and the shame will be erased, forgiveness flows and healing beings.The past becomes the past and not your present.

Trust the one who can make that happen for you-starting today.

A Trip to the ER

Ok-life on the farm is somewhat dangerous...but our place is ridiculous! We sat down the other night and calculated the grand total of medical procedures our family has needed. The list is pretty impressive. Our latest trip to the ER,a few weeks ago,was for a single staple in the head...a launching from a horse...minor check off of the list. Kid stuff.

Over 23 years our family has had...

82 staples
138 stitches (or more, the math got fuzzy)
4 broken arms
3 broken fingers
2 eye injuries-requiring metal to be removed
4 sprained ankles
1 sprained wrist
1 broken elbow
10 missing fingernails
Lost count on burns...
Immeasurable bruising...
35 days in-patient hospital stays
3 out-patient hospital stays.
4 major abdominal surgeries
2 Root canals
2 sets of wisdom teeth removed
5 broken noses
2 broken heels
4 adult teeth pulled
Foot surgery
Elbow surgery
2 cancer scares
Appendicitis
A whomping case of Scoliosis

I am proud to say we are all up-to-date on our Tetanus shots, although we are considering rabies shots...that would be a new thing to add to our list. And yes, we have teenage drivers...pray for us!

How is your list of wounds? Do you spend time counting the people and things that have hurt you?--savoring them? Making a list of how everyone has hurt you? Oh, how bitterness creeps in over the years. 

Jealousy, Anger, Gossip, Envy, Strife, Hurt...all of our ugly comes out when we harbor unforgiveness.  Self absorption has a way of making us miserable and the power of unforgiveness becomes frightfully obvious to others and yet oblivious to ourselves.

We keep really, really good records on others and forget that others have a record on us. Call them OUCHIES or BOO-BOO's or whatever you want but a band-aid isn't going to fix it.

We all know the verse--we KNOW we are supposed to forgive but it is so hard sometimes! Why?! Maybe pride, maybe it feels too good to keep someone else on the meat hooks, maybe we think way too much about what has been done to us than on what we have done to someone else. Either way-Jesus shows us how to forgive. He lived it --died for it and He wants you to extend it to the very person that drives you crazy. Yeah--that one.

I really don't like going to the ER because a trip to the ER means there is a wound that needs healing...something is broken that only a Physician can heal.I am so grateful that I can turn to someone who has the knowledge and skill to heal me.

That wound you have held on to for so long...It's time for a spiritual trip to the Great Physician. Don't you think?