AIN'T NO SOUP GOOD ENOUGH

Ohhhh, soup.  I'd knock over an old lady to get to a great bowl of soup.  Totally kidding!  (Kind of.)  But really, there's nothing like a ridiculously good bowl of soup to fill a hungry tummy.

Just ask Esau.  He traded everything for one bowl of soup.  One.

His birthright. The accompanying honor.  The cattle, the money, the title.  

Yeah, all of that is worth it for a bowl of soup....right?

Before we judge Esau's folly, we have to acknowledge our own.  Because, sadly, we make similarly foolish trades.  

Financial safety traded away in exchange for worthless stuff bought with credit cards.

A life of purpose traded away in exchange for comfortable living.

Families traded away in exchange for a fling.

And all of a sudden, Esau's trade isn't the only one that seems foolish.

We have to act on behalf of what we do not yet see.  We need to live as though there's a future that awaits.  Today is not the only day we need to consider. 

Because a day will come when the blessing of the birthright will be distributed...and those who have traded it away will loathe their own folly.  And a day awaits when the kids will ask you why you didn't choose them over your addiction (or over that someone).  The time will come when the bank wants its money and doesn't want to hear your sob story.

Our promise in God our Father is abundant life.  But abundance evaporates in the midst of these unwise trades.  Shackles clang shut on our hands and feet while freedom disappears like a vapor when we exchange worthy things for unworthy ones.  And we get a lesser version of what God intended for us to have.  

His mercy is great--unfathomable.  But let us be vigilant against foolish trades in our desire to be filled.

He had in mind more for us.

 
* That insanely delicious-looking soup up there is Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup, and WOW is it good!!!  Find the recipe here. You are welcome!!  

OH,YEAH...I'M SMALL

We aren't exactly tall around here.  The tallest person in our family is 5'8".  Me? I'm a sky-scraping 5'2". Our daughter's full adult height is projected to be 4'9" -- Yep, you read that right.  Four. Feet. Nine. Inches...

...And so heels are my friends!  It's nothing for me to spend my summers in 4-inchers.  And at the end of the day when I kick off my shoes and sink down several inches, there's the realization once again:

Oh, yeah.  I'm small.  

I feel like there are times in my life when I parade around in spiritual heels.  Look at what I accomplished for the Kingdom! See what I did in His name! Check me out, serving my God!

But then when I spend two seconds face to face with the utter magnificence of God, I am restored to my right place, remembering the truth about the matter:

Oh, yeah.  I'm small.

Divinely made, but small.  Purpose-covered, but tiny.  Made in the image of my God...but miniscule. 

He has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens with His fingers (Isaiah 40:12).  And--oh, yeah--I'm small.  The train of His robe fills the temple and He has raised the dead.  And me?  Well, in stark contrast, I'm small.

If I don't spend time considering the flippin' hugeness of God (take THAT phrase, deep theologians), then I'll buy into the lie that it's about me.  And if you never gaze into the grandeur of God, you'll be tempted to believe your own press, so to speak.  

This life isn't about you nor me, nor my name, nor your fame.  But it IS about someone who outlasts our every single effort to make our names known.  You are small, I am small.  And it's okay.

Itty, bitty you.  GREAT BIG GOD.  

Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts, LORD.  You are great, and you grace us with Your enormity.  Give us wisdom to remember how small we are in light of how great You are.   

* "Itty, bitty you. Great big God." -Louie Giglio: i am not but i know I AM
*  Photo credit:   http://pinterest.com/pin/226165212507160319/

DANGLING BUTTONS

Marriages crumbling, right and left.  

It messes with my heart.

Seems like in our marriages, we are like buttons stitched to fabric, and the Stitcher means for them to be sewn together for life.  God Himself has stitched us to one another, vow by vow.

And it would be awesome if nothing ever tugged or pulled at these buttons after that!  But we know that's just not the case. 

Annoyances arise.  Our differences go from "cute" to "infuriating." The money isn't there, and our schedules have us...well, missing each other like two ships passing in the night.  God blesses us with kids, but then by the time they're all tucked into bed at the end of a long day and there's finally a moment together, that moment looks like two exhausted individuals who couldn't even make it past the opening credits of our favorite show.

Enter that somebody from the past we rediscover online.  Or that attentive co-worker.  Or that listening ear we find ourselves hoping we'll run into again today.  

Enter an enemy who loathes marriage--one who hates that our unions are meant to represent the bond between Christ and the church, who wants to twist and distort that picture for a watching world.  The one who prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), who delights in dismantling what God has joined together.  The one who is hell-bent on subtly tugging on these buttons until one day, they fall off.  And he slips out the back door, leaving fractured families in his wake.


Yes, there is one who is against us, against marriage, and against the idea of the ones God has joined actually finishing together.  BUT THERE IS ONE WHO IS FOR US--and FOR our marriages.  And if God Himself is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? He gives greater grace...and wisdom to know how to keep doing the maintenance of stitching on buttons that have suffered wear-and-tear:

Acts of consideration.  I try to make my husband's coffee every day--and bring him a cup of coffee on weekend mornings.  He had flowers waiting when I returned home from a trip recently.  We check with one another before making commitments.  Just little ways to say, "I'm mindful of you."

Make Date Night a Priority.  Really.  It's too expensive?  Yeah...but so are divorce lawyers.  

Words.  What we say.  How we say it.  How calmly we say it.  Even how quietly we say it!  I just read an article from a now-divorced man who identified some areas in which he wished he'd acted differently, and he mentioned the trouble with yelling.  Not yelling AT your spouse (although that seems like a pretty clear NO), but yelling TO your spouse.  He said he wished he hadn't yelled throughout the house to ask his wife something, but had taken the few extra moments and steps to go find her and ask her something.  Also, speaking kindly TO and ABOUT your spouse is really critical.  Every time we build each other up with words is just one more stitch.

Be a patient mom/dad.  Not perfect, but attentive.  Not flawless, but involved.  Grace-filled in our interactions with our little ones.  There's something about seeing my husband caring for our children that seems to stitch him tighter to my heart.  And while my husband and I do not raise our voices with each other, he sees me lose my cool with the kids from time to time.  I mean, really--how attractive is someone who is impatiently hollering at your kids about homework or chores--even if the message is deserved?  I find that when I am patient with our children, it's an asset to our marriage, too.  

Laugh.  Play.  Yes.  Sometimes it can feel like the only conversations we're having are kid-related or schedule-related.  We can feel like co-workers pretty quickly if we don't ever do day-off kind of stuff together.  Laugh.  Play.  Make FUN a priority.  

Ferociously guard what is precious.  Yeah, that would be your marriage.  So be "extreme" in protecting it.  Whatever it takes.  It's worth you being extreme.  Maybe it means sharing all passwords--seriously.  If you know your spouse has access to what you're doing and saying, it is a good safeguard against conversations and connections that have no business taking place.  Affairs happen quickly sometimes, but more often they are a long time in the making.  So just because you're far back from "crossing a line" doesn't mean it's safe to engage in risky behavior like emotionally-driven conversations with someone other than your spouse.  That line can get very close very quickly, with a momentum that is hard to fight.

And so we begin to look at our actions within marriage as "maintenance stitches."

A cup of coffee made for your spouse is not just a cup of coffee. It's a stitch.
Avoiding anyone who is becoming a temptation?  A stitch.  A gosh-darn important stitch. 
Remembering to kiss each other hello and goodbye?  Those kisses are stitches made.
Every time you put them first instead of you, every graceful reaction, every prayer spoken over your spouse...
Stitch, stitch, stitch.   

Let's do some stitching, y'all.  Our marriages are totally worth it. 

* Please check out my friends over at Marriage Adventures who love seeing people finish together and have a fabulous life together along the way, and Amanda at Royal Daughter who is leading #PrayerDare over at her blog.