A Fluff and a Buff, Please

Work was over, if that is what you could call it. The day had been wild. Laughter was rolling around the room faster than the tears were able to roll down our cheeks. It felt good to be goofy as it helped to relieve any tensions deep down inside. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it was time to come home and prepare for class at the church. Between the journeys from work to my class a dent was put in my spirit due to the things going on at home. Hesitating for a moment to assess the damage, I thought for sure I was fit enough to go on to class.

Wearing my “feelings on my shoulder” as I remained shook up from the recent dent I got in my spirit; it didn’t take much to make me “dent-shy,” if Webster will forgive me. It reminded me of the time I was hit by a drunk driver. For a long time afterwards the slightest movement made me jump. One day as a friend of my daughter’s was riding with me she stated, “Boy you can tell she was recently in a wreck.”

Sure enough, not to anyone’s fault emotionally it was easy to tell I was acting a little “dent-shy” as I didn’t want to be hurt again. All it took was one comment from someone in my class to make me crumble against the affects of my first dent that evening. I felt as if I was beyond being able to shine again to the point where no amount of fluffing or buffing could put my spirit back to where it needed to be.

In the midst of my pain God reminded me of the time prior to my second brain surgery. One day at my parents’ ranch I stood near the cattle in the field wondering what was in store just days ahead when my surgery was scheduled. Nervously I began to cry, and then I stopped myself, thinking I’m not going to waste any prayers. The same holds true 10 years after my surgery, “I’m not going to waste any prayers. I am not going to let God’s work come back useless,” I thought to myself.  I knew in my heart God had done a lot of spiritual body work in me mixed with the many prayers sent ahead on my behalf. Both were fluffed and buffed together with the price Christ had to pay for me to be a free woman, not one bound by the trials in life. All of which were things not to be wasted.

To some within the church I must have looked like an emotional wreck being brought in on a weekly basis via a tow truck. Surprisingly enough at the time we had just that, a red and white tow truck that came to church each Sunday. Thinking about that I began to chuckle as I thought about how the tow-truck of life is there to bring us to church for repair not to take us away. We need to have the attitude that we will not allow God’s work to be useless, permitting ourselves to be something that’s good for only parts whenever needed.

To me over the years the church had served as my “spiritual body shop.” It was a place to go to get the dings out, a new paint job, redone, refreshed, re-fixed, refueled, “A fluff and a buff if you would please.” I knew in my heart the only person who can tag me “totaled” was myself. One day God’s going to lovingly reach down from heaven with a big grin on His face with a sign that says “total” as in “complete,” not “totaled” as a wreck.

Until then we need to hold on to the promise Hebrew 4:16 gives us when it tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” We don’t have to be ashamed of our dents. We don’t have to get the dents out first. We don’t have to do it alone. We can do it today and any day with God’s help. Once completed, oh what a shine as His glory serves as our new paint job reflecting His love, grace, and mercy.

“A fluff and a buff, please.” A fluff and a buff.

Copyright 2000 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipe Publishing 

Karen's Crossing~~~A Special Chair

Thank you Lord for today's sermon and the added blessings You put in this day for me.     Luv, Karen

Indeed it was a very special day in church as my gang and I selfishly and proudly took up the entire back row of chairs or "pew" as I want to call it. Even the special chair at the end of the pew designed just for me was filled. 

Arriving earlier than even the preacher we were able to capture the remembrance of the occasion with a group photo shot. However, what this grandma hopes is that each grandchild who was there will capture in their hearts the memories of going to church with grandma. 

Memories of the music sang, words spoken and feelings captured as we worshipped the Lord in many ways. Also laying hold of the memory of the Coleman camping chair that for the last four years had found its way into a sanctuary of color coded maroon chairs. The chair grandma had to use just to be able to sit in church comfortably with her bone cancer. A chair with arms to help me up and down and a cushion to absorb the pain in my spine and pelvis. 

My continued prayer is that each will know that whether there is pain in the "offering" they still need to come and worship God. It doesn't matter if the pain is from losing their grandma to cancer or a relationship gone bad or a fractured leg or finance issues we need to find ways to come and worship. For me and my cancer it was testing out camping chairs that would do the trick for me to worship God each Sunday in the church. 

Last thing to burn into our memories for the day would have to be the words of the sermon given. Words of encouragement letting us know how much God loves His children. It was stressed that whenever we bring joy to our Heavenly Father it is worship and being in His presence brings on that joy. A type of joy that overflows on to us as well and strengths our spiritual needs. 

Sitting in that sanctuary are many 'special' chairs. Each designed for us personally with our name on it. Each made for our special needs. They are not designed as thrones for us to rule from but as special chairs designed to be in God's presence absorbing His love for us.  

It would do us well to enter that presence and claim the special chair at the end of the pew. The place where hope, strength, love, forgiveness and so much more is found. 

Copyright 2015 Karen J Gillett at Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing. 

In Udder Words Tuesday~~~it's Up to You

Make a decision today that you are going to enjoy the living daylights out of the rest of your life, and you're going to let God reward you for everything you've lost, that you're going to have a double-good, extra blessed life because of the pain in your past.  Joyce Meyers 

Every day is a choice. We can choose to be happy or we can choose to be grumpy. We can choose to let the pain of our past knock us down or we can choose to let it pick us up as we live a double-good extra blessed life because of it. The choice is ours, it's up to you. 

In spite of cancer, health issues, marital problems, financial issues or other things we need to make the choice to enjoy the living daylights out of the rest of our lives. It doesn't matter how long or short that time may be. We need to allow God to reward us for everything we have lost and the pain we have suffered.

We must refuse to allow that which hurt us in the past to continue to do damage to our lives. For the biggest reason being what controlled us then doesn't have to control us now. It's up to you believe it or not. 

Its up to us to allow God to reward us for our lost, opening the door to better things to be done with what has hurt us in the past. We can't let Satan win the battle he has us in. It's up to us. Let the living begin not end with the pain of our past. 

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In Udder Words ~~~~~~~ X Marks the Spot

 Colossians 3:1-3 if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

 

 

It had to of served as some kind of target for the National Guard to use as something to aim for when practicing their drills. No matter what the purpose of the X was it did remind me of my school years when we use to put X’s on things and then say, “X marks the spot.” It was a game we would plan then but as an adult the game changed into something more to me.

 

When life’s storms were at their peak I would use the X to try and stay focused on God. At work whenever things got rough and rocky I would make an X on a piece of paper and would look at that while the politics of the office went on around me. It gave me something to focus on and to not be sucked into the negative magnetic force around me.

 

It was a trick that worked rather well at home and at work or wherever I was because it made me zero in on Jesus and thinking about things above. As the world tried to get me to focus on the negative, the bad things, the politics of the office, the bitterness at home I had a focus. A much better focus than what the world was offering me.

 

This is what the scripture in Colossians is telling us to do, to seek and stay focused. The challenge of this scripture is the fact that at times you wish they would list those “things above” so you could focus on them. In the heat of a moment, in the highlight of a dark time sometimes it can be hard to think, “Ok what are some of the things I can think of that are from above instead of what is going on down here on earth.”

 

First thing that we can think about is Jesus. He is definitely from above and is something worthy of focusing on. To prevent us from focusing on Christ this is where Satan likes to step in to interfere.  The thought of, “If Jesus cares and loves me so much then why is this happening in my life, why doesn’t He stop it. Why? Why? Why?”

 

STOP! You have just gone back to focusing on the things of the earth, the circumstances around you that are happening, the negative, the sad, and the difficult. God has put up an “X” for us to focus on, to get our minds off of the things of the world. That “X” is on His love, Jesus Christ, joy, inner peace, abundant strength, and everlasting guidance, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and life eternal in a place free of pain and suffering.

X marks the spot, but it’s up to us where we are putting that X. We can focus on the things of the world that will only tear us down or we can focus on the things from God that build us up. The one destroys, the other gives life. Which is it going to be? Where are you putting your X?