Monthly Archives: January 2012

coffee stains

Posted on by
2

Maybe it’s just my guilty conscience, but I feel like whenever I hear a sermon about giving or read an article about saving money, the first thing they always say is stop buying Starbucks over-priced coffee!!! So after a little reflection and a lot of resistance, I calculated how much I could save a month and decided to give it a try. My decision was definitely enabled by the fact that I work with three coffee fiends. Morning, noon and night- there’s always a full pot in the break room and an open invitation to share. So I grabbed my creamer, a handful of Splenda’s from my final Starbucks run, my favorite snowman mug from Mike, and began “sacrificing”. The first week went pretty smoothly, zero coffee purchased with zero caffeine withdrawals acquired and I was feeling pretty good on Friday afternoon as I slowly counted down my final seventy three minutes of work one by one. Until I noticed my mug on my desk. There wasn’t really any way to wash it properly at the office, but I was able to rinse it out in the sink and I figured a little coffee residue never killed anyone. It’s lack of lethal influence may have been correct, but I forgot about the staining power of coffee. As I stared at the yellowed inside of my most favorite coffee mug- after only five days!- I realized that water alone wasn’t enough to keep the white enamel clean; I needed the power of dish soap.

Fortunately my mug wasn’t ruined, and so far I’ve faced no health risks from my experience. But I can’t lie that I didn’t feel a twinge of sadness when I first noticed the stain. I love looking at my mug on my desk every day because it reminds me of Mike- how thoughtful he is and how much he loves me. I didn’t want anything to spoil my gift.

God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. Ephesians 2:8

God’s gift to me- to you, to everyone!- is salvation. I know when I put my faith in Christ, and realized that I now had a clean slate, that everything piled up on my record was wiped away, it was the best gift ever. But if I couldn’t get the slate clean in the first place, then there’s no hope that on my own, I can keep it clean. Sometimes, I get to the end of the week and realize that depsite my disciplined efforts to follow my Bible reading plan and pray for half an hour daily, I’ve begun to accumulate some residue. Maybe nothing that seems critical on the surface- I haven’t killed anyone lately. But I was pretty angry when my roommate turned on the dryer while I was sleeping. Little things begin to discolor and taint the beautiful gift I’ve been given, and I get frustrated. But there is a Helper.

You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives within you. 2 Timothy 1:14

Water alone can’t remove coffee stains. Human effort can’t remove inner stains. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, daily, to help us stay in the black.

-lf

in solidarity

Posted on by
5

One of my three flaws is that I like to complain. A lot. About things that can’t be changed. I like to think that it’s because as one of six children, my parents never had much tolerance for complaining, so now that I have a devoted boyfriend who hangs on my every word, I’m just getting it out of my system. What I love though, is when I tell Mike about something that I don’t want to do but I have to, he almost always responds with, “I’ll do it with you, in solidarity.”

I don’t want to get up at 5am and go to work.

–I’ll get up at 5 too, in solidarity. 

I want to eat dinner but I can’t.

-I won’t eat dinner either, in solidarity. 

I don’t want to clean my house.

-It’s not my mess, but I’ll clean it with you, in solidarity.

 In solidarity. I didn’t even know what that really meant; it was just one of those phrases I’ve heard all my life. It’s a union. Unity. Loyalty. Allegiance. Out of shared sympathies.  The act of sharing the feelings of another. Compassion. It’s not assuming that we understand, that we have the same problems, the same hurts, the same pains. But it’s recognizing that it happens to all of us. We’re all affected by ups and downs in our lives. To stand in solidarity is a commitment, to acknowledge the value of the problem and be there, because we’re all human.

Problems that I complain to Mike about are easily solved. I pull myself out of bed at 5, Mike texts me something funny, the day goes by and it’s over. It’s the problems that I don’t want to talk about that linger. The inner failings I’m embarrassed to share.

-I said I wouldn’t be rude to that coworker again but he slurped his coffee again at 7:23 and I told him exactly what I thought about it…

-I said I would pay my tithe regularly but there were just a lot of other things I wanted this week…

-I said I was going to fast but I didn’t even make it until lunch…

-I said I wouldn’t let myself get in that situation again but I did, I willfully went there and now I have to fix it…

Human solidarity can only go so far. There’s a limit to how much we can share, and how much another person, with all their weaknesses, can help us. But there is One whose solidarity is enough.

“We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.

He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all- all but the sin.

So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 MSG)

Fully God, fully human.

Fully understanding, fully sympathetic.

Fully available, fully willing.

Whatever you’ve failed at this week, whatever you need help with, whatever seems too overwhelming to handle alone, Christ is ready to stand with you, in solidarity, so that you can live in the black.

-lf

behind a truck

Posted on by
2

Even though I live less than 20 miles from the metro station, it can easily become an hour trip with rush hour traffic. Oh the joys of being a Northern Virginian commuter. Because of my great love of sleep, I’ve become adept at navigating this treacherous trip as efficiently as possible. I know exactly what time I need to leave, what lights change the fastest, which Starbucks has the shortest line, and what lane out of the four on 66 will ultimately get me there fastest. I’ve studied the Weavers, watching them swerve back and forth between lanes, but by the time we reach the exit all their activity hasn’t made a difference, so I stay in my well chosen lane, and 9 times out of 10 I exit before them. Sometimes though, especially when I’m extra tired, my magic lane doesn’t seem to be working. I start to notice the trip is taking longer than usual. People are passing me but I’m not passing anyone. I try to resist the temptation to change lanes, having been suckered into that route before only to come to a complete stop while my previous lane surges forward. I can only resist the urge for so long however, before I take the plunge and switch lanes. And the worst feeling is when I pull in to the other lane and realize that traffic isn’t actually that bad. It’s actually moving freely for miles. I just couldn’t see it because I was behind a truck.

As frustrating as that is, what’s worse is when I come to this realization in my personal life. I’m just sailing along on dreams of the big picture, of what I’m going to accomplish, of my 3-5 year plan, of the things that I think are important, and I don’t even notice the 40mph semi in front of my face. The “little” things that have piled up and are slowing me down.

  • Gossip.
  • Lies.
  • Selfishness.
  • Unforgiveness.
  • Jealousy.
  • Discontent.

Ugly words. Ugly words that I hate to associate with who I am, but my loathing doesn’t change the facts; that even the slightest indulgence in any of these sins will begin to slow me down, and that it happens more often than it should.

-Letting that malicious tone tint my stories.
-Exaggerating situations and events.
-Not freely giving what I have freely received.
-Withholding affection because I was wronged.
-Wishing I could live down the road from my mom too.
-Wondering why I’m not further ahead than I am.

Jesus said, “Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life- to God! – is vigorous and requires your total attention.” (Luke 13:24 MSG)

Your total attention. I don’t want to live on autopilot, only to discover that I’ve been stuck behind a truck, wasting valuable time. I want to live the life that Jesus intended for me. Effectively. Profitably. Strategically.

I want to live in the black.

-lf