Log in my eye.....

Well, I clearly had a "Mandi Moment" today. It seems I'm having trouble thinking clearly and it is not because of my hair color. As I drove home from Valpo I was multi-tasking, by catching up with my mom on my cell (that is a total other issue, I know). Anyway, got home and went inside...did a load of dishes, load of laundry, checked my email and even spent a few minutes "on the couch" with John. We decided we needed milk and bread (didn't have a thing available for lunch, again, a whole other issue), I asked him to ride with me to CVS. Had some "extra" bucks...lunch would practically be free and we could have some time together. A CVS date. :)

Anyway...I went on a search for my car keys. Shocker, they were no where to be found. No, I didn't have them in my hand...as I grabbed John's keys and we headed to the car. Well...the car was open and totally running, in the middle of the street. Found my keys. I burst out laughing...and so did John. I seriously am losing it. I had spent at least a half an hour inside doing stuff as the running car sat open in front of the house in the middle of town. What a blond! Maybe it is because of my hair color!

Here's the thing, I laughed. John laughed. It was dumb and a total mistake but do you know what? Had John done that...I would have reacted totally differently. Honestly, I would have been totally mad. My mind would have gone in a hundred different directions from someone stealing the car to the car blowing up from over-heating! No matter, I wouldn't have laughed if it was John. That is just the truth of it.

Today's events make me pause and think, how do I react to the "speck" in other people's eyes, when a huge log is hanging out of my own? I made a mistake and had a "blond" moment today. But honestly, sometimes I can have real trouble cutting other people slack when they do dumb things-things that have nothing to do with silly things like car keys, but things like keeping a commitment or an off-handed remark. Things we all tend to judge people on.

Grace is an amazing thing. John cut me a lot of grace, I cut myself a lot of grace. Taking the time to look at the circumstances around a situation does amazing things. Cutting people the same break I so desperately need does amazing things. Face it, so many of our moments, spiritually speaking, are "blond" moments and we all need a ton of grace constantly! Lesson for the day...get the log out, and cut some grace, before I react to someones speck.

A Vote for Change....

Well, millions of people showed up at the poles on Tuesday to "vote for change" and a change in our government, there will be. No matter what your personal political views are, it doesn't matter to me, I don't want to talk about politics but I would just like to share an observation and then a conviction that I experienced this week, because of the "vote for change."

As I woke up on Wednesday morning to the overwhelming "vote for change", I was hit like a ton of bricks...Americans have voted, they have spoken and this American culture says, "Status quo will not do, we want change." My sisters, we live in a culture that is crying out and voting for...CHANGE.

Here's a thing, you and I know but we tend to forget. True Change can only happen when the human heart is changed by a personal relationship with Jesus. HE is the True Agent for lasting change. Presidents can't give true change (any of them), Politics can't, Government can't, Churches can't, and programs,with or without Jesus' name attached, can't change people. Only Jesus can, though His finished work on the Cross and the Power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. He changes people. Does the Church in America look like that?

What hit me and convicted me to the core is...People are desperately looking and seeking change and many, if not most (many church-goers included), don't have a clue that Christ is the answer. Do you see what kind of opportunity that this is? The fields are ripe for the harvest...this is a huge opportunity for the Church (not for the buildings and the programs), but for the Body of Believers to answer the call for change. Christ is the answer. The world is not satisfied with status quo, and the church is responsible for what they have been "selling"...the status quo brand of Christianity that looks like just another option, like another brand of another religion. Please hear my heart, I'm not talking about the words we use, I'm talking about the results in our lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ works, it changes people from the inside out! The real question is; does it look like it, in your life and mine?

This is a strategic time and place in history, and I don't want to be a part of the status quo...I want to display the grace and power of True Change. "Christ in me, the hope of Glory", pointing the many who are seeking temporary change, in my little sphere, to the Real Source of the change they seek. I believe this is a wake up call to the Body of Christ. A call for our lives to display the change that the Gospel makes in a life.

Can we look back and see that the Lord has and is changing us? Is the Gospel not only proclaimed in our words but in our lives? Not perfectly but progressively...is Jesus changing us? Americans want change. I believe we need to confess and repent, personally for the lack of change in our lives, the lack of love and power...not lack of love for the issues but lack of love for Christ. Not point the finger at who and what...but in humility, raising our empty hands up, asking the Lord to change us, so that the world...those who seek change will see it, in us and as they see us...they would see Change-which is Jesus.

On the Lip....

Have you ever noticed that the lip is a very sensitive place? Yesterday I started what I thought was a cold sore on my lip, man it hurts! I started to apply some medicine and went to bed. So this morning...the pain has increased, not the size just the pain. Looking in the mirror...it really is small. Actually, I don't think it is a cold sore after all, just a zit. Small, yet it feels like the size of a baseball...right on the lip! Goes to show you how big things come in small packages and they are not always "good" things!

So often the pain in our hearts can be the same way, something or someone hurts us and it's really not that big of a thing, but the pain? Feels like it's been inflicted by a baseball bat! Have you taken "one on the lip" this week? Is there a pain that shouldn't be "that bad" but it is? A pain when you look in the "mirror" it seems small or even different yet, you can't get past the pain? Do I have a point? Yes, I do.

I think it is very important to acknowledge our pain for what it is and acknowledge that some places in our lives are more sensitive than others. I also think it is so important not to diminish the fact that if something seems so small yet hurts so badly...that the Lord may have allowed a sensitive place to be "wounded" so that it may heal.

I have been in Hebrews 12 for quite some time, it is a great passage! I can get really messed up on what the "discipline" of the Lord looks like- at the root of one of the Greek words used here it means- "the sum total of child-rearing" and we learn that discipline-training heals. Catch that...the Lord trains/grows us up/disciplines to heal.

Hebrews 12:11-13 "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet those who have been trained by it, afterwards it (discipline/training up) yields peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, BUT rather be healed."

Have you taken one the the lip and it really hurts? Know that the Lord is doing good things...acknowledge the pain and rest in Him. He is working. He is growing you up. I'm almost 40 and still getting zits! They are painful, especially on the lip! We will never be "fully-grown" until we see Him face to face. Don't get so weary that you give up...know that the pain heals.

On that day...scattered

I just had Bible Study this morning and we were in Acts 8. If you don't know the history, check it out. Stephen has just been martyred (in Acts 7) and "on that day" a great persecution started in Jerusalem and the believers were scattered. Everything changed that day for the average Jewish Christian-they were torn from their safe and comfortable life, whatever that may have looked like and scattered. My first response? How horrible! How would you have responded? Me? I think I would have responded in total panic and fear...scattered to who knows where and then my tendency would have been to close myself into my "new" home and be silent, questioning God. "Where are you in this?"

What was the Lord doing? He was literally scattering His Church to fulfill His Great Commission (Acts 1:8). What was the tool? Persecution. What was the reason? The gospel going into all the world. The gospel was to be "scattered" and that happened by means of the believers being literally scattered, because of persecution. What does the Lord use in our lives to accomplish His Purposes? Sometimes...troubles, trials, sometimes scattering. How will we respond? Panic and fear? Or faith and boldness? Check out Philip in Acts 8. What an example of a man filled with faith not fear. What an example of the gospel of Jesus Christ infusing life into the scattering experiences.

$ 3.75...to spare!

I just have to give a word of testimony of how Great and Big our God is...even in the small things. Our family is a ministry family, my husband is in full-time paid ministry and I...well, I do ministry and the Lord has made it VERY clear that I am just to "do" ministry and He will see that I'm "paid". He provides every month but I'll admit it is not an easy way to live.

I have to share with you, this month we were $96.25 short of making our bills. There you have it, that is the black and white of it. I got up this morning first thing, before I even spent any quiet time with the Lord, and immediately checked our bank account, online. I was trying not to be stressed but we needed the money by tomorrow and well...you know. :)

Anyway, I did the math twice, three times...got Maggie to school, went to the bank with one deposit and then the store for our groceries (which was paid for, with a "love-gift" from one of my classes! See the Lord providing!?) came back home and did the math again...just checking for any spare money, sure enough $96.25 short.

I wish I could tell you that I got on my knees with a wash of sunlight pouring down upon me and prayed...no, instead I sighed, got up and went to the mail box. There was a $100.00 check in the mail. Now, you have to understand...I really am not that surprised. I could tell you story upon story of how the Lord has and does provide for us BUT isn't that just amazing?!? I'm learning to share with others what He does! He Provides.

$3.75 to spare...here's the thing, I have a dinner appointment tonight at Wendy's with one of my Bible Study girls, $3.75 isn't just a little extra, it is just perfect, they have a great $1 menu!

"Thank you Lord, for all You do in Your sheer Amazing Grace. We don't deserve it...I'm overwhelmed. I'm humbled. Thank you. Praise Your Mighty Name. YOU are enough"

Where are you looking?

Where are you looking, these days? There is a lot going on in our world, nation and I dare say...there is a lot going on in most of our lives. This week alone I have heard of at least 6 very serious life changing illnesses, 3 ugly and huge family dramas, and a host of other messed up things. So where do we look?

I've been thinking about 2 phrases which compose actually philosophies of dealing with life and issues; "the grass is always greener" mentality or the "someone always has it worse" mentality. Do those mentalities really work? Where do these philosophies really point? Is the grass truly greener or is it the perpetual crisis of "fence hopping" to get to the never-ending, ever greener pastures? Does the fact that some one does always have it worse than me really solve the heaviness of heart and give me hope?

Tonight, as I think on this, I am reminded...Jesus is the Great Shepherd who knows where the grass is most plentiful..there really is no greener pasture and no matter how much worse another sheep seems to be, Jesus is the only One Who is the Shepherding Healer, the True Caretaker.

Where do I need to look these days and every day until I go home? To Jesus and to Him Alone! Where are you looking? Where do you tend to look? Do you tend to look at another pasture or at another sheep? Me too, keep looking at Him.

Seeds...into Flowers.

Maggie got some seeds somewhere...I can't remember exactly when or where. I'm not very good at the whole garden/planting thing, but I do enjoy looking at the flowers. I'm just not very good at growing anything but weeds!

So back in the summer, Maggie "planted" some seeds. Literally, she threw them on a dirt patch by the front of our porch. Well, low and behold...in October zinnias are growing. Those seeds, without any care on our part, they grew and we actually have a producing zinnia plant. It's amazing.

I can't help but smile and be amazed at the same time, every time I pass the plant. It looks really random and definitely out of place, but the plant really is beautiful. Just when I think all the blossoms are done, another pops up. Wow, it's amazing.

I'm reminded of just how many things in my life may seem random or out of place to me...how some seeds seem to be scattered carelessly but really are growing into something beautiful. I'm reminded that the Lord is not careless or seemingly uninvolved (like I am with my gardening ability!), He is tending, sowing, weeding, watering, growing...pruning.

So many times, I can get sidetracked by what I perceive as lack of growth. When in reality there are beautiful blossoming plants and all kinds of seeds growing in various stages and places. I need to take the time to notice, smile and be amazed by what the Master Gardener is doing in the garden of my life, in an unlikely season and unlikely place. Sit back and look at your life...no matter what it may look like to you, He is gardening in this season.

Rolling through the stop signs....

My first born child is driving and in a very short amount of time, he is going to be taking his driving test. AHHH!!! Wouldn't you know it, our insurance company has a policy in place where he can receive a "discount" if he finishes a program of logging his drive time AND of all things, critiquing another driver. It should be no surprise that the driver most often critiqued in this scenario...would be, me.

Excuse me, I've been driving for 20+ years...I would really rather not have my 16 yr-old critique me! I must say, in addition to my heart failure at the fact that I am old enough to have a licenced driver, I am also greatly offended and I dare say, unfortunately convicted of the fact that all of my driving experience has produced a bit... of how shall I say it....arrogance and laziness. It has been brought to my attention a number of times that I have a tendency to roll through the stop signs.

Here's the thing, I tend to roll through those familiar stop signs due to the fact that I know what I'm looking for (other cars coming- thus the arrogance) and they are the same stop signs day in and day out (I really don't get out much, I stay on the same routes-thus the laziness). Hump. Now that Peter has done, or shall I say, is doing all that critiquing I've really had to recognize this as a real part of my "skilled" driving pattern. I don't even think about it...so often, I just roll right through.

Translate that to the spiritual realm for a minute. How many times do I tend to just "roll right through" God's stop signs. When He says...wait, stop, look, watch. When He says things like...stop, "the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" or "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger". Hump again. My tendency can be to just roll right through with those same issues with arrogance and laziness. "I already know what to expect, Lord." Or, "I've done this a million times, Lord." So often, I'll just keep rolling on through. What am I teaching my kids? Both physical and spiritual? Wow, who knew I could be convicted over driving? Keep your eyes open, yes for the real stop signs but also for God's Stop signs. Don't just keep on rolling through.

Squirrel!!!!!!

"Squirrel!!!! " Have you ever seen the movie,"Christmas Vacation"? You know, the Chevy Chase movie (the TV version is pretty cleaned-up and a Christmas-time favorite of mine.)...anyway, everything goes wrong at Christmas and in a fit of sheer frustration Chevy cuts down a tree from his front yard and puts it in the living room where...A guest sees a live squirrel in the tree and yells, "Squirrel!!!" Everyone panics, it a ends up jumping out and landing on Chevy's back...he runs all over the house,with the squirrel attached. I'm embarrassed to admit but I laugh until I almost cry at that scene- at how absurd and hilarious it is every single time I see it. So...this week I had my one and only (at least I hope) chance to yell, "Squirrel!!!! "

Wednesday morning 1a.m. I awoke to the sound of scratching, got up and looked behind my dresser,at the source of the scratching...yes, it was a squirrel. All I could yell was, "JOHN!!!!!" at the top of my lungs! Man, what a missed opportunity! Anyway, what could we do at 1 in the morning? Not much, after it ran over my foot and into the closet...well, I slept on the couch and John... he stuck it out in the bedroom. So I had a squirrel in my closet.

You must understand I live in a close to 100 year old home with not much storage space besides the basement and yes, you guessed it, the closet. I have been meaning to clean the closet in my bedroom for the last...well, you can imagine. After my lovely experience on Wednesday, I figured there was no better time than now and frankly, a squirrel just isn't acceptable in the closet. So,I went to work...you know the saying, "it has to get worse before it gets better?" Well, that is very true in the Cornett closet. It was horrible.

After 6 bags of goodwill and 4 bags of garbage (give me a break, it is a big closet!) Still no squirrel. I know that is a good thing. I figured out he came in the window and then must have exited...at least that makes me feel better. :) Here is my point, yes I have one.

The squirrel was the catalyst to fix a long-term problem that needed fixing...the closet. I've put that off, longer than I want to admit. Isn't that so true of how our lives so often look spiritually? You see, I got pretty good at ignoring the problem of the closet because I just keep the doors shut! Until the squirrel ran in...then I COULDN'T ignore it any longer...sometimes the Lord allows squirrels to "run into the closet" of our lives...places we have gotten rather comfortable keeping shut off and closed. While the Lord, He wants to clean it out and up...make it truly usable space. Get it?

I'm getting smacked right now, in my life... with yes, my real closet but also some heart issues that are requiring cleaning up, and I want to just shut the door...thus the spiritual squirrel. Praise the Lord for your squirrel...maybe they are suppose to get in so that He can do the cleaning? Trust Him. Whatever your hidden mess, it isn't too messy and overwhelming for Him. He wants and designs to make every area of our lives usuable...for Him and His purposes. Do the squirrel's freak us out? Duh! Ya....BUT He can take care and use it all!