MY BLOG POSTS

Tattoos are incredibly popular. There are tattoo parlors all over the place – in storefronts, in malls, in the city and the country. There are upscale tattoo parlors, non-smoking tattoo parlors, tattoo artists working alongside make-up artists and hair stylists. Tattooing is a statement, it’s art, its fun, it’s meaningful…

But it’s not for me.

I’m not saying it’s wrong. Lots of people I know and love have tattoos. I’m just letting you peek in my head (be careful, it’s messy!) and see how I came to my conclusions. You, of course, are free to  make your own choices. Unless you’re still living at home or being supported by Mom and Dad. Then you need to do what they say, whether you like it or not. When you’re making your own money you can go out and get a tattoo of you getting a tattoo while your parents look on in horror. Until then, just content yourself with doodling on your hand with a ball point pen.

Let me address a few reasons people give for getting tattoos and my personal response to those reasons. Feel free to disagree below. I love hearing from you!

But I want to get a tattoo of a cross or of Jesus so everyone will know I’m a Christian.

Seriously? We show our love for Jesus by our actions, by how we treat others, by how we forgive, how we encourage, how we help those in need and comfort those in pain. No one is going to come to Jesus because he lives on your shoulder. But they will come to him when they see that he reigns in our hearts.

I want to get a “Mom” tattoo because I love her so much.

Let me just say, as a mom, I would much rather have flowers. Or chocolate. I’d rather have you visit me when you’re grown, have you take care of me when I am old and sick. But tattooing me on your body? Not so much.

I want a tattoo of my favorite (sport/hobby/TV show/superhero). When I was in college, a classmate came into our Communications class sporting a shiny, huge, incredibly colorful tattoo of Sylvester the Cat on his forearm. A cartoon character. On his forearm. I looked at him and shook my head. We were seniors. He’d be out interviewing for jobs soon. With Sylvester the Cat on his forearm. I could hear the resumes being shredded. Don’t put something on your body that will embarrass you at any point in the near or distant future. Which brings me to the last argument…

I’m going to get my tattoo in a location no one will ever see. It’ll just be my fun little secret. So what’s the point? Why get it? And don’t tell me it’s so you’ll remember something or someone special. If you need a tattoo to remember someone or something, he/she/it isn’t really as important as you think he/she/it is. Seriously.

That is why I choose “Not” to tattoo. That, and this….

The cast of “Bye Bye Birdie” right before our first dress rehearsal

This week was “Show Week” at my school. For those who have participated in theater – whether behind-the-scenes or onstage – you know that week is crazy. Lights, sound, costumes, hair, make-up, set and props must all work together in harmony with the acting, singing, and choreography so the show can be the best it can be.

You also know that, almost without exception, there is a point during show week where the cast and crew think, “This is going to be a train wreck.” But, also almost without exception, the show ends up much better than anyone expected.

“Bye Bye Birdie” was no exception on either count. We had a couple rough rehearsals. Lines were dropped. Props were dropped. Even actors were dropped! (this is my daughter, playing Mae Peterson, being “let down” by her Sonny Boy)…

But, on opening night, everything came together. The cast and crew were fantastic, and the audience was thrilled. It was a phenomenal production! The others directors and I were so proud.

Show time!

Life is often like that. “All the world’s a stage”, after all! But our Director, unlike us fallible humans, is perfect. He knows everything. He is never taken by surprise.

But we sometimes forget that we’re a work in progress. We’re in the middle of “Show Week” – working towards our “opening night”. Things are going to get messy. We’re are going to make mistakes, to question where we are going. We’re going to let people down. We’re going to let ourselves down.

In those moments, we need to listen even closer to our Director. Cling to His Words, go where He tells us to go, say what He tells us to say. Even when it doesn’t make sense to us, we need to trust the One who knows far more than we do!

We can be assured that, if our hearts belong to Jesus, “opening night” is going to be far beyond our wildest dreams. An eternity with the God of the Universe, in a new body, a new heaven and a new earth. Wow!!

So live in the mess. Thrive as a work in progress. Trust your Director. And enjoy. Because, in the glittering words of Conrad Birdie, “You’ve got a lot of livin’ to do”!

Earlier this week, a police officer knocked on our front door — in the middle of the night.

Dave and I were both sound asleep, and my first thought was that we were being robbed — obviously  I was sleep deprived. What robber knocks?? We warily approached the door, where a very nice lady cop was standing, her car in our driveway. Dave opened the door and the officer apologized for waking us.

“But,” she said. “Your garage door is open, and we have had some robberies in the area. I wanted to make sure you were all right and that you knew to shut and lock your garage.”

We thanked her and promptly obeyed, walking around the house to make sure no unsavory characters had made the same discovery the cop had made.

While we didn’t enjoy having our sleep disrupted, we were grateful. Who knows what that nice officer may have saved us from!

I’ve been thinking about that incident the past few days, and I can’t help but compare that police officer to the Holy Spirit. Just like Dave and I left our house unprotected, sometimes we leave our minds and hearts unprotected — we put ourselves in situations where the door to sin is wide open. The temptation is right there. The Holy Spirit warns us – through a gentle reminder, the words of a friend or pastor, a passage of scripture that comes to mind– and we have to make a choice.

Sadly, I find that it was far easier to obey that cop than it is to obey the Holy Spirit. I didn’t argue with the officer. I didn’t justify why leaving the garage open would be all right. I didn’t say, “No one will come to MY house. I’m going back to bed.” I shut that garage! Then I locked the door to the garage. And, for good measure, Dave stuck the key in and set the deadbolt on the door to the garage. We even checked the other doors, just to be sure our house was safe from would-be robbers.

How sad that I care more for my house than my soul.

When the Holy Spirit warns me — “You need to forgive that person.”; “You shouldn’t be watching that show.”; “Respond with gentle words, not harsh ones.” — I rarely obey immediately. More often than I should, I ignore the warnings: I don’t forgive, I keep watching, I spit out a mean response. Then later, I reap the consequences. I ALWAYS regret not heeding the Spirit’s voice. Why do I refuse to listen?? When He is giving me help far greater than any police officer on the planet?

God used that officer for more than just a physical wake-up. It was a spiritual wake-up, as well. A reminder to heed His words, His warnings, to stay within His protection.

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” II Timothy 1:13-14

When I had Emma – on my 24th birthday – I did something rare: Math. And I realized that the day she turned 16, I would turn 40.

That day came last Saturday.

We celebrated our milestone birthdays with a trip to NYC, and we were joined by some of our closest friends. It was a perfect weekend.

Contrary to what you might think, Christian school teachers who write a few poorly selling books do not make a ton of money. Shocking, I know. So just darting off to NYC for a weekend is not something we could normally afford. But we were gifted with the money to do this, and it was, most definitely, the best birthday gift I’ve ever received (having Emma, of course, was a great birthday gift, too…but this gift was pain-free, and it was spent WITH Emma. So January 31, 2015 officially trumps January 31, 1999).

So what did we do, you ask? Don’t read on if you are prone to jealousy 🙂

• Saw THREE Broadway musicals: “On the Town”; “Phantom of the Opera”; and unplanned-but-saw-it-because-we-got-stuck-in-NYC-an-extra-day-oh-darn, “Les Miserables”
• Visited the Museum of Modern Art where I saw, up close, REAL Picassos and (my favorite!) Monets. We also saw some very odd pictures and sculptures for which Emma made up very creative, deep meanings, leaving us all laughing and, most likely, annoying the real art-lovers nearby
• Had Cake Boss cupcakes AND cake, along with a birthday greeting from Grace!!
• Lunched at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where amazing singers are the wait staff. Their rendition of “One Day More” was unbelievable!
• Dined at Junior’s – a super cute diner right across from the windiest alley this side of Chicago
• Stayed RIGHT in Times Square, with a crazy good view and surprisingly comfy beds
• Visited TONS of shops — we had to stay warm!
• Walked two miles, down Broadway, past 34th street and Macy’s, Herald and Union Square, to find some of the best chocolate ever — Chocolate by the Bald Man
• Had TWO flights cancelled (thank you, snow!!)
• Rode the Subway
• Rode the Long Island Railroad
• Played in the snow in Long Island while waiting for the airport shuttle (actually, that was the girls, not me. I’ve had my fill of snow play. I watched them while drinking my coffee and tightening my scarf)
• Met NO rude New Yorkers – every single person we met was kind and helpful. Truly.

So that, in as much of a nutshell as I can put it, was my 40th and Emma’s 16th birthdays, now forever known as…

The. Best. Birthdays. Ever.