Living in Boxes

If you were asked, "Have you ever lived in a box?" most of us would quickly answer "no!" Some of us would add in an additional you-need-to-go-to-the-Funny-Farm look. Have you ever lived, even for a day, in a small confined space? We've all been sick at some time and confined to a bed, a room or a couch. Some have spent time confined to a hospital bed. I can remember being "grounded" as a child (for something I'm sure I didn't do!) and confined indoors, no friends, no phone calls. Pure torture. At times we are boxed in by the weather, time or financial limitations. Recently I read through the Bible story when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and I was struck by the idea that we often live in boxes.
There is no mention of boxes, even in the Hebrew language, in Lazarus' death-to-life story. My imagination wasn't captured by Lazarus though, I was intrigued by his sisters, Mary and Martha. They are a familiar duo in church circles. Martha is the one criticized for being overly concerned about a perfect dinner party. She complains to Jesus, and attempts to manipulate him into getting more work out of her sister Mary. Mary is the sister idealized for having a "more righteous" approach to the event. She wasn't worried about meal prep, she just wanted to enjoy Jesus' company.  I have been both Martha and Mary so I get both sides of the issue.
In the story of Lazarus' death and resurrection, Martha and Mary's roles toward Jesus seem to have switched some. When word comes to the sisters that Jesus had finally come, Martha is the one who rushes to be with him, and Mary remains at home. That gave me pause.  Why wasn't Mary running to Jesus to soak up some comfort, to be blessed with some hope? And how is it that Martha was able to leave her responsibilities, and the people who had come to help her mourn?  Perhaps Martha felt a responsibility to go greet Jesus, after all he was an esteemed Rabbi to her. As I read her conversation with Jesus I saw a flicker of hope in her. She tells Jesus, "Even now I know God will give you whatever you ask." My initial thought was to get all excited and scream at her, "Do it! Ask for the big miracle!" But Martha seems to retreat into Sunday School answers. She says the "right" thing but it's as if she is unable to grasp the outlandish possibilities God always can provide. It hit me that Martha was living in a box I call "this is how God works."  I'm familiar with that box. Growing up in the church I learned an odd balance of knowing God can do the impossible and accepting God is Sovereign so He gets to choose. Both are very true, but the box I lived in for quite some time would rationalize away asking for and believing for the outrageous by saying things like "but Your will Lord." I would want to see and experience the miraculous, but I would stop short of REALLY asking and then lead myself to believe I was being "spiritually mature" about it all.  Desiring God's will is where I need to live AND I need to believe that God is a God of the impossible. There is no box of "this is how God works!" For Heaven's sake! - HE IS GOD, the I AM!
Since my mind was rolling on this whole box idea, I glanced back at Mary. Mary, sitting at home, wrapped up in her grief. I recognized myself again and I was able to identify her box. Mary lived in the box of the immediate. Mary was easily trapped in the emotion of the moment. I've lived there. My personality is wired in such a way that I have to be careful to not be trapped in that box, because God and His purposes are always greater than what is happening in the immediate moment. It's a gift to be able to experience a moment in its fullness AND one needs to be able to step out of that moment and welcome the presence of Jesus into a new, fresh, miraculous moment.
In the story, Jesus came to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, to awaken him from his "sleep." And I believe he longed to awaken others as well, to free them from the boxes they were living in. I recently heard a pastor preach on this passage and he keyed in on the phrase, "Lazarus, come out." He challenged each of us to listen for Jesus' voice calling us to come out from what held us entombed. He didn't say the words that were parading through my mind - but the concept was the same: Stop living in boxes, step out into the wide world of miracles and freedom and true Living. After all, God is sovereign and He can do the impossible, every moment of every day.

Redefining Perfect

Have you ever wanted some thing , or wanted something to happen and then realized how hard it would be to accomplish it? Perhaps you entered a race, and then later realized how hard it would be to actually train. Or maybe you had a goal to lose some weight, and discovered too many cookies had you on speed dial and they kept calling you. Or maybe you wanted to earn your AA or BA, Masters or Doctorate degree but life kept interfering and you found yourself without funds, or you got sick, or someone in your family had a crisis and you needed to step in. Perhaps you've just wanted to have a day with literally nothing to do (a favorite dream of mine!) and to gain that one day seems to cost you a month of overtime and no sleep.  Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do - is it worth the cost, the time, the effort?  Sometimes I wonder if there's something better for me.

More often than not, I need to be honest with myself and admit I want life to be easier, more accomodating to me, more ideal - more "perfect."

My mailbox is currently being flooded with magazines picturing an idyllic Thanksgiving feast. My email inbox is already overflowing with Christmas gift ideas to purchase or create. Television talk shows are prepping me for holidays with amazing tips and tricks that a variety of "experts" are convinced I should implement. The picture perfect life is presented to me as possible everywhere I turn. My desk and my office, along with the laundry still in the dryer, the bathroom that needs be cleaned, and my checkbook that refuses to balance, are telling me a different story.
I have been spending some time soaking up God's Truth in Psalm 33 and I am beginning to wonder if I have the wrong image of the perfect life; the Psalmist lays out truth that tells me Christ gives a "perfect life."
1.) There is joy because of the LORD (verse 1). I know that I am loved (with an unfailing love) and that God in his great mercy has provided a way for me to have an intimate relationship with the King and Creator, God Almighty. In fact, the Lord is so amazing, and provides such joy, I should continually be coming up with new songs to praise him (verse 3)! A note in my NET Bible says, "A new song is appropriate because the LORD is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways." What's not perfect about that? God constantly intervenes in my life so that I know joy, unfailing love, and intimacy.
2.) God is in control (verses 4-11). These verses are packed with the truth that God is the Creator and sustainer of our physical world. He literally spoke the earth into being -that's quite a bit of power and creativity! And ALL of God's Words are right, just and fair (verses 4.5). God can't go against who he is and he is ultimately faithful (verse 5); He is reliable and dependable and His plan, for this earth and all who dwell here, will happen (verse 11).  These truths really speak to the reality that my picture of perfect needs to be replaced with the fact that God Himself is the only perfection, and only He is absolutely worthwhile.
3.) God sees me and He sees You (verse 13). This is more than a "hey! I see you over there . . . way over there." The verse says God looks carefully, intently. closely. Verse 14 tells us that God watches or observes. Verse 15 says he made our hearts, therefore he understands what we do, why we make the choices we make, why I long for coffee and someone else longs for diet Pepsi (yuck). God is invested in me -I am his creation. If I were someone who designed a line of clothing, I would take extra care of what I created. I would make sure it was safe, protected, displayed so every one would see its awesomeness.  I would check seams and hems and embellishments to make sure the thread is strong and holding as it should. I would be proud of what I did. Why would I think God will be any different when it comes to me? God sees me and knows me: He knows where I will stretch and where I won't; He knows where my construction needs an extra seam; He knows where my design has flair, and what areas need to be hidden; whether I need to be buttoned up, zipped up or closed with a hidden hook and eye. God sees me for who He created me to be, I am perfect in His design,  and I can only know His perfection for me if I follow His choices, picked for me.
4.) God will demonstrate His faithfulness (verses 18-22). Sometimes God delivers and gives us the magazine-perfect picture. Sometimes God provides just what is needed to get through a rough time, like just enough food to survive a famine (verse 19). My oldest sister died of cancer more than fifteen years ago. I remember telling God as I looked at her in the casket, that he could bring her back to life, that it would be really good if she just sat up and started talking. I also remember God later speaking to my heart and saying, "is it not just as great a miracle that You and Your family are still serving and praising me, than if I had raised your sister back to life?" The famines of life are never experiences we want to repeat AND God remains faithful and perfect in the midst of them.  Through the love and mercy of Christ to me,  the pain and heartache of losing my sister taught me a perfect lesson that has sustained send encouraged me again and again and again.

Perfection isn't an ideal life.  Perfect life is found in the ideal person of Jesus. My heart has been reminded of how perfectly God intervenes on my behalf; I am composing a new song to sing, to God be all the glory.

Dot to Dot

I have always loved to color.  I'm not a "real" artist: I can't draw freehand. I do get enthusiastic about being creative. I thrive on decorating, rubber stamping, scrap-booking, occasional sewing or crafting, styling outfits, photography...  I just like playing with color.  When I was small, I liked finding dot to dot pictures in my coloring books. You know, those pictures that had just one element surrounded by a bunch of dots with numbers.  The goal was to create a finished picture by starting on the dot labeled with the number one and then connect each sequential dot with a line until the picture was complete. It was so fun to see what the picture would turn out to be.  It was as close to drawing freehand as I could get.  I enjoyed the combination of being creative and figuring out a puzzle of sorts.  I especially enjoyed the ones where you couldn't tell what the picture was until you were nearly done!  The other morning as I spent time with Jesus, he gave me a dot-to-dot adventure.

I tend to read various portions of scripture each morning.  They aren't passages necessarily designed to be read together, so often there is no obvious correlation between the different verses I read.  On this particular morning I began by reading Philippians 2:1-11. Paul is writing to the Philippians, encouraging them to be more unified.  He begins with reminding them of benefits they receive because they are believers in Jesus Christ.  He moves on to challenge them with the idea that since God is so generous to them, they need to be focused on working together to tell more people of God's goodness and plan of salvation. He clinches his argument by giving the example of Jesus, who is in fact God's son with all  power and divinity, and yet he chose to be as humble as the lowest servant and gave up his very life so that man could have a relationship with God the Father.  Paul reminds the Philippians that the goal is to have everyone acknowledge Jesus is Lord. That's a good goal, I can go with that.  
What grabbed my immediate attention though were the items Paul first mentioned in Philippians 2. Because I am a Christ follower I have been given gifts that fill color in my life: 1.) I get to be encouraged; I have encouragement always available to me because of Christ, who He is and what He's done for me; 2.) I am loved; 3.) That love provides comfort; calm, soothing, warming to my soul; 4.) I have fellowship. I have a constant companion, a sweet relationship, a friend, someone to always hangout with.  Bonus: this friend is none other than God Almighty; 5.) I have been given and continue to receive mercy.  I am accepted for who I am and I am forgiven.  Wow! That list is amazing! It's like Christmas every day!
And it does make sense that if God is going to be so generous to me, shouldn't I want to be as generous to those around me so that more could know Jesus as Lord and cash in on those same gifts? I admit that when I begin to think about what Paul admonishes in verse 3, "...each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself." my selfish inner diva takes a giant step forward in protest.  It's tough stuff having the same attitude as Jesus.
On that same morning I also read Psalm 31:1-5.  The Psalmist seems to be having a tough day, tough week, tough year in the beginning of this Psalm. He's begging God for vindication, to be rescued, delivered quickly!  He acknowledges that God is his protector, refuge and stronghold.  He trusts God with His life because God is faithful.  My initial reaction to the Psalm was a basic warm fuzzy; when I am in desperate need, God will be my safety net. God wouldn't let me stick with that.  He prompted me to take a second look and verses 3 and 4 became more  prominent.
"For you are my high ridge and my stronghold; for the sake of your own reputation you lead and guide me.  You will free me from the net they hid for me, for you are my place of refuge."
This is where God began to draw some dots and number them so that I could follow where He was leading me, and grasp the picture He was sketching. Dot #1: God gently asked me "what net are you becoming entangled in?"  I began to think about Philippians 2 and my selfish inner diva.  Dot #2: God really cut at my diva-syndrome because he pointed out that He would free me from the net, FOR THE SAKE OF HIS OWN REPUTATION. It wasn't about me. Dot #3:  My mind went back to Philippians 2 and the benefits I receive because I'm a Christ follower.  God is gracious to give me encouragement, acceptance, fellowship, comfort and forgiveness because that's who He is. He is my refuge.  Dot #4: Since Christ is freeing me, since my life is about His reputation, since God is continuously generous to me, since I claim Him as my refuge and stronghold, I am to choose to not do anything out of selfish ambition and look to the interests of others. That's who I am to be as a Christ follower.  Dot #5:  This nothing out of selfish ambition life is summed up in the phrase "Have the same attitude as Jesus."  The very life that God calls me to, is the very life He gives to me. Dot #6: I can trust God to enable and equip me because He is faithful.
My heart and mind are still striving to keep track of the dots and grasp the truth God revealed to me. As in with most dot-to-dot pictures, you end where you began.  God is faithful.  He is faithful to encourage me as I submit to being united with the very person of Jesus.  His love will comfort me when I struggle with the cost of having the same attitude as Jesus, and as I continue to commit to squashing my inner diva for the honor and glory of his reputation.  I don't have to walk this journey alone, God delights in fellowship with me.  And the truth that Jesus loves me and has forgiven me provides a firm foundation that anchors me.
I anxiously wait to see which colors God chooses to fill in the picture He is creating. The picture known as me.

In the Ebb

Life ebbs and flows. We all have good days and bad days. I have skinny days and chubby days. Some have productive days and lazy days. Others have painful days and pain-free days. It's the nature of things; it keeps the process interesting. Bad days enable us to appreciate the good days more. My chubby days teach me what is necessary to enjoy more skinny days. Lazy days recharge batteries so that productive days are even more productive. God even planned an "ebb"day, Sabbath, into the flow of a week! So why is it, when the ebb times come, do I tend to do a little whining, a bit of panicking, and a touch of moping?
I had an "ebb"moment just this morning as I sat having coffee with Jesus. We had our usual discussion over a passage of scripture, we touched on our Psalm of the week, and we read a  brief chapter together from a book our church is reading through as a congregation. Then, as is my habit, I go back over the notes I've made and listen for the Holy Spirit to help me connect the dots, emphasize a new truth, give me a nugget to focus on during the day. It's not that God was silent, He wasn't. God had revealed Himself in His Word, there were new thoughts, new ways of looking at familiar ideas. There just wasn't that rush of awe because a spiritual light bulb had been flipped on. Not even a tiny whoosh. I began to wonder: Did I come to Jesus with a bad attitude today? Am I just going through the motions? Have I allowed something in my life that has caused my passion to wane? Am I truly seeking truth, peace, joy, and God's purposes in my life?
God reassured me that I hadn't gone off the deep end. He revealed small areas that need to be tweaked so that I am more about Him than about me (a common discussion theme over coffee). He whispered these tender words to me: "Just be with me today. Just sit and enjoy these moments. There's no need for an 'a-ha' today. I want to be with you, just be with me."
Even as I write those words for this blog, the truth of that love whisper overwhelms me. God loves me so much, He gives me an "ebb day." A day to soak in again what I already know to be true. A day to step off the Crazy Train of productivity and expectations and just be: be honest with God about what's really going on with me; be real about what I need and don't need; be humble and submissive to who God is and not just what I perceive I am to do.
I wish I had the ability to describe the glory and peace that is thick in my living room. The room visually looks the same, yet every item is gently different. The pillow that says "Smile" tinkles with an angel's giggle. The pumpkin-scented candle that flickers floods the room with a unique holy aroma. The empty chair next to me is no longer empty - a tender face with twinkling eyes smiles at me with pure delight. The decor I had set out yesterday to celebrate Autumn seems to resonate with every picture and image of Fall I have ever seen. The cross-stitch on the wall of a beloved hymn bursts forth with sounds only my heart can hear. It's marvelous and miraculous. God is here,
My heart overflows with qratitude, because even in the ebb, perhaps especially in the ebb, God is present. And that's how life should flow.

Being Part of the Family

For any of us who have grown up in Sunday School, we have heard the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15, verses 11-32.  If you are of my generation you were told the story using flannel graph. If you were a lucky duck the day the story was told in Sunday School, you got to move the characters around the flannel board- whoa!  In very simplistic terms, there is a dad with 2 sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance, and the father complies. Off the younger son goes to do all the things a parent fears most their child will do and blow every penny. He eventually finds himself trapped in a horrific job trying to make ends meet. He decides to return home, apologize for being so unwise and disrespectful, and see if his dad will give him a job on the family farm. When he is getting closer to home, Dad sees him, rushes to hug him, and throws a huge party to welcome his lost son home. The older son is not happy with the turn of events. He feels slighted and the story ends without a complete resolution for the entire family.  Again -very simplistically- the father in the story is God; the younger son is someone who doesn't believe in God; the older son is someone who does believe in God. There are many lessons in the story -it is a parable after all, a story told to teach a lesson. Lesson 1.) God allows us to choose; lesson 2.) God is always eager to welcome anyone back home; lesson 3.) to receive forgiveness, one needs to be sorry for what one has done; 4.) God's forgiveness is real and comes complete with a celebration!
I have two children. For years, as I read this story, I was afraid my children would be like the two sons. One child would leave home (without an inheritance, we don't have that kind of cash flow) and live a lifestyle seen in raunchy movies. The other child would live nearby (we don't have a family farm, nor land for said child to homestead on) and come over regularly for dinner.  At some point, the wild child would return to my great joy, but the family would remain fractured.
Recently I read this story again in my quiet time. I admit I was cruising through the verses because the story is so familiar to me,  when this phrase jumped out to me  in verse 28: "the older son became angry..."  Questions began to pop into my train of thought: Why was he angry? Did he feel left out? Did he feel used? Was he generally unhappy with life? Why didn't his father know? Did he ever talk to his dad about how he was feeling? Did their relationship look really good to the outside observer, but lacked real substance?  It occurred to me, for all his obedience and doing the "right" thing, the older son wasn't any closer to his dad than the wayward, younger son.  When the father comes out to appeal to him. to see his brother's return in a different light, the older son lists his complaints and basically vomits all over his dad. 
I felt a nudging in my spirit and I wondered, "Am I like the older son?" More questions began to flow through my stream of consciousness: What kind of relationship do I really have with God, my spiritual dad? Do I truly talk with God honestly about how I'm feeling about life? Am I just going through motions or do God and I have an intimate and extremely personal relationship? Have I been "vomiting" on God because I perceive I'm not being treated as special as someone else? Do I get excited about what God gets excited about?
Verses 31 and 32 of Luke 15 (NET) say, "Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours. It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”  As a follower of Jesus, one of God's adopted children, God promises me several things in these verses. First of all I always have God available to me -always. There is never a time he is too busy for me, or is uninterested in what I'm thinking or feeling. Secondly, everything God has I can tap into. When I engage with him in true 2-way relationship - Conversing together, experiencing life together, learning from him, sharing my hopes and dreams, ideas and thoughts - then all he has is available to me, everything is open for discussion. Thirdly, God will teach me to see what is really significant. I have the privilege of learning to have the attitude of Christ; to be consumed with what Jesus is consumed with; to be about my Father's business; to know when it's most-assuredly appropriate to celebrate and be glad.
Thankfully, as God and I chatted, He affirmed to my spirit that our relationship is good. And he nudged me to be aware that I have a tendency to play the Comparison Game (that whole why-don't-I-get-a-party issue). He gently reminded me to talk with him when I'm feeling left out, or hurt; to not let things fester; to allow Him to meet my needs of peace, joy, and hope with his unlimited supply. He brought me back to the truth that I am not to live "all about me," but to see people and circumstances with His eyes, being consumed with His mission and His purposes. In those moments together, we had a little celebration of our own, God and me, and He brought the cake.

Now What?

Several years ago, my family lived in a house with a fireplace. We didn't use it consistently, but there were evenings when a fire seemed the ideal addition to any plan. One evening, we were having a small group of people over and the decision was made to build a fire. My husband got it all going, then ran to the store at my request, and I headed upstairs to finish getting ready. It wasn't long before one of my children came upstairs and said, in a very concerning tone, "Mom, you better come downstairs."
I followed downstairs, and I'm pretty sure I was exhibiting signs of annoyance and frustration. I don't remember too well, because what I discovered when I got downstairs overshadowed the memory. There, in the fireplace, behind the glass, trying to scoot away from the fire, was an animal of some sort! My mind exploded in multiple, random thoughts: What is it? It's a huge rat! What if it gets out? What if it bites one of my children? Are we all going to die of some strange disease because of this? Why isn't my husband home yet? WHAT DO I DO?!  I began to be afraid the glass protector, which really was just leaning over the fireplace opening, was going to fall over and then all pandemonium would break loose. Somehow I ended up with a broom in my hands, the end of which I had pressed against the glass screen to keep the whatever animal in the fireplace. Please realize, all of this is taking place with much screaming and obvious anxiety. The kids and I do finally realize its a baby racoon. Number one clue: mama racoon is making all sorts of noise in the chimney, because one of her babies had fallen and she couldn't get to him. We hear her scurrying up and out the chimney a couple of times, most likely saving her other babies. Mind you, I am not calm yet; this is way beyond my skill set. In my imagination, I'm sure Mama Racoon is going to come barrelling out of the fireplace and attack one of us - in the face - because we have harmed her baby! You can assume I was in no way processing rationally, nor portraying an image of calm maturity for my own babies.  At some point my husband comes home, and my daughter rushes out to him with this pronouncement, "You'd better get inside, Mom's freaking out." Notice she doesn't mention there's a rodent in our fireplace, because really, the bigger issue is I'm freaking out. We call animal control, we call the police department, we call whomever we can think of. We discover we are on our own, period. We brainstorm and call friends of ours who are outdoor and animal enthusiasts, and invite them over to participate in our little surprise party. They come, the whole family, with friends, and a cat carrier. They manage to prod the singed baby racoon into its new cage and we set the trapped animal outside on our patio to contemplate "now what?"
That phrase, "now what?" came to my mind the other day When I read the last half of 2 Corinthians 10:5 in my Bible. It says, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Generally the verse is  interpreted to mean that when we are thinking thoughts and ideas that are not glorifying to God we "capture" that thought,  or we identify and isolate it, so that we can then change, alter or adapt the thought so it is God glorifying. I have also read authors who apply this same verse to positive dreams and ideas. Again, the idea, thought or dream is to be identified and isolated (captured) so that we, with the help of God's Holy Spirit, can do what is necessary so that the thought, idea or dream falls in line with what God wants for us. Simplified, the verse has 2 parts: 1.) take captive (or identify and isolate) every or each thought; 2.) make the thought obedient to Christ. Step one doesn't seem that difficult to comprehend. Step 2 is more challenging. To truly follow through with step 2 one needs to pray, seek wisdom, and sometimes take multiple steps of obedience!
Some days my brain needs to operate solely on "simple mode." God knows that, so God chose to help me by giving me this phrase:
"So there's this ___________, God, now what?"
I am currently at a time in my life where God is asking me to focus on daily obedience. He's not bestowing me with big dreams or plans, but with activities, commitments, and disciplines for me to follow through with every day. I've been asking "now what?" quite often! When I think of applying it to my thought life it seems manageable.  "I have this dream Lord, now what?" Not- 'how do I make it happen?' Or 'Whoa, God! Me?' Or 'This is how it's going to go down, God.'  Just: now what? Am I to take a step of faith? Do I need to share it with someone? What one thing am I to do next? 
"I have this really judgemental thought, Jesus. Now what?"
"I'm afraid of what's happening in my family, at my job, with our nation, Lord. Now what?"
" I have an opportunity to move, to advance, to go on a date, to go back to school, Jesus. Now what?"
Just one step of obedience at a time. Just one answer to be concerned with at a time.  What now, Lord? Prayer is still needed, so is seeking wisdom from God's Word and perhaps even godly counsel. Asking the question 'now, what?' leads me to sit at the feet of Jesus more; I'm seeking His wisdom more; I'm recognizing His character and will more quickly.  Capturing some thoughts feels like trapping a rodent. We become distracted by all the possible 'what if's.'  "What if?" is the wrong question. "What if" doesn't seek to isolate the thought or idea, instead it attaches one thought to multiple thoughts.  When our thoughts aren't isolated or "captured,"  it's too hard to make them obedient to Christ's will, plan and purpose. You can't ask 'What, now?' if you are consumed with 'What, if?'
One step of obedience at a time-just one. I'm seeking one answer at a time: "So, there's this__________, God. Now, what?" And I'm learning to make all parts of my life obedient to Christ.

A Dog's Life

I caught my dog, Sam, the other morning peering out the window. The window sill is just the perfect height, that it looks as if his nose is resting on the sill so he can gaze with even less effort than one might expect. The ideal "dog life."
We as people often envy the dog and his lazy life. Someone feeds him, buys him toys and treats, cleans up his poop, scratches him when he itches, tells him he's a "good boy," and even takes him on exploratory adventures! The dog's only responsibilities: sound off when a delivery has been made, scare off potential intruders (with the same sound mentioned before), welcome you with enthusiasm when you arrive home- with that familiar sound, express delight when you bestow attention on him ... Okay, the dog has a responsibility to bark, at anything and everything!  It's a desirable lifestyle: everything provided and given, one just has to make noise. It's doable.
As I watched my dog, I wondered What he was thinking. Was he longing to go outside? Was he envious of the little dog out on his morning exploratory adventure? Then it hit me: a dogs' life isn't that grand. My dog is totally at my whim and mercy! That adorable furry friend doesn't get anything, or get to do anything. unless I decide. Hmm... perhaps its no wonder he lies around and sleeps all the time.
I wonder how often I respond to life like my dog Sam. I wait for something to take place instead of making life happen. I can remember moving to a new state and praying that God would send me a friend. It's not a bad prayer, it's just that I also needed to be out and about meeting people and acquiring acquaintances. There have been moments when I have wished I had a day of "fun." You know, like what you read in books and see on TV. You and your girlfriend(s), looking all cute, thin and stylish, spend a day together.  Perhaps you shop, peruse a museum, go to a coffee shop and just chat, or drive around in a convertible while your hair still looks good even though windblown. The question that hangs in the air is did I call anyone or did I just stare longingly at all the pretty girls in convertibles driving by?
In case you haven't picked it up: I am not a dog. Neither are you.
I currently am reading book entitled "A Loving Life in a World of Broken Relationships," by Paul Miller. The book is an examination of the Biblical story of Ruth. Miller's intent is to challenge us to 'hesed' love. Miller helps to define this Hebrew word:  "Sometimes hesed is translated 'steadfast love.'  It combines commitment with sacrifice. Hesed is one-way love. Love without an exit strategy. When you love with hesed love, you bind yourself to the object of your love, no matter what the response is." Miller uses Ruth as a prime example of this Godly love. In one chapter, Miller talks about community. He says:

The biggest problem people have in searching for the perfect community is just that. You don’t find community; you create it through love. Look how this transforms the way you enter a room of strangers. Our instinctive thought is, “Who do I know? Who am I comfortable with?” There’s nothing wrong with those questions, but the Jesus questions that create communities are, “Who can I love? Who is left out?” Instinctively, we hunt for a church or community that makes us feel good. It is good to be in a place where you are welcome, but making that quest central is idolatry. And like all idolatry, it ultimately disappoints. But if we pursue hesed love, then, wherever we go, we create community.

Let me repeat what I mentioned earlier: I am not a dog. Neither are you. There is no need for me to sit at the window and watch life go by. I have been given a task, enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to live an abundant life. God has purposed me to be His hands and feet, to interact with His children in His world. I don't need to be guided on a leash for Christ has set me free. I am called to live out love and create community for myself and for others. I am challenged to step beyond my walls and risk loving so that I may experience true community and thereby also abundant life.
I am not a dog, but if you'll excuse me, I think it's time I headed outside my walls for an exploratory adventure. Woof!