MY BLOG POSTS

Earlier this week, I led a caravan of students from our church to a bible study at the youth pastor’s house. I had five girls in the van with me, and there were three other cars following me.

I’d been to the house before. I thought I remembered how to get there.

I was wrong. I didn’t know where I was going (I rarely do – my sense of direction is almost as bad as my culinary abilities).

So I kept driving. And driving. When I realized I had gone way too far and we finally pulled over, one of the boys following us said, “I knew we passed the street. But I thought maybe you knew another way.”

He shouldn’t have kept following me! He should have pulled beside me and made a “what are you thinking?” face and told me to me stop. But he was raised to respect his elders (a good thing), so he just kept on.

When I finally pulled over, he volunteered to lead the caravan, and within minutes, we were in the front of the youth pastor’s house, laughing at my error.

As I drove away, I thought of how easy is it to follow the wrong leader when it comes to our spiritual lives. We all follow someone. Even people who think they are “doing their own thing” aren’t – their ideas are informed by the ideas/philosophies/teachings of others. As Solomon so wisely said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

So how do we know which leader is true? As I have said so many times before, I base my beliefs on the Word of God. I believe man’s wisdom, apart from God, will fail us EVERY time. But the Word of God never fails. It has proven itself to be true over the centuries – through scholarly analysis and through the hearts of those changed by its words.

I follow the God of the Bible. I follow Him because He created me, He knows my future, He has plans that I want to follow. He knows the “right way.” And though He clearly states there is One Way, He makes that way available to everyone. We can choose to follow Him, make Him our leader, or we can choose another leader and find ourselves off the path. Lost.

It is our choice.

This week, as we celebrate the death and resurrection of the Savior, I pray you follow Him. Don’t get behind someone who doesn’t know where she is going! Stand behind the one who has known you since before you were born, the one who loves you more than you can possibly imagine.

Follow Jesus.

I recently read that, prior to the 1920s, most women had mirrors that were tarnished.  The view they received in those mirrors, then, was fuzzy, imperfect. Like a super-filter on Instagram. All the time.

As mirrors improved, women were shocked at what they saw: blemishes, wrinkles, dark spots, under-eye bags, crow’s feet, red blotches – no more filter.

Beauty products suddenly became a booming business.

As I read this, I thought about these verses…

“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:23-25)

James says the Word of God is a mirror – a clear mirror that shows us our imperfections. A mirror that, at times, can make us uncomfortable. But a mirror that reflects reality so we can know exactly what needs to be fixed. When we remember that image – those ugly imperfections – we can focus on asking for help to overcome them (info on that in James, too!).

But I think many of us today have the same problem women prior to the 1920s had: we’re not looking in good mirrors. Instead of peering into the Word of God for our “how do I look?” check, we look at other people and other books, even blogs like mine. Nothing is wrong with reading this blog (I’m so glad you do!), but it is meant as an encouragement, not a replacement for time spent in God’s Word. Devotionals are great, Christian books are great, talks with other believers are great, but none of those are as beneficial to your “spiritual beauty” as DAILY time spent in the Word of God.

So maybe it’s time for a mirror check – where are you looking to determine how you truly look? If it’s been a while since you’ve looked in the mirror of God’s word, then open it up, dive back in. Don’t be content with a “filter” on your spiritual mirror.

My daughters were not allowed to play with Barbie’s until they were 4 and 6 years old. I know, I know. But this is what parents do. Especially with the first child. We are deathly afraid of scarring them for life – and we see “scar potential” in everything.

So until the fateful “Barbie ban” was lifted, our daughters – especially Emma (the oldest) – coveted the curvy toy. They played with them in secret when they went to friends’ houses. Emma, on a trip to my grandmother’s, spent an entire day in Barbie heaven when a fellow grandma gave her a huge box-o-Barbie’s to play with.

They would beg and plead for Barbie’s. When we were at Target or Wal-Mart, they would stare at the Barbie displays, longing spilling from every pore. Our friends and family joined them in the cause. How could we deny our daughters this American icon?

So we finally gave in. Emma and Ellie were thrilled. Our family was thrilled. Within weeks, they had a dozen Barbie’s with several changes of clothes, a carriage and horses, accessories, and dresses that matched their favorite Barbie’s. They were thrilled.

For a couple months.

Then they were done.

In a relatively short period of time, the “I can’t live without them” Barbie’s were collecting dust, and the girls had moved on. There were other toys they wanted more, other items they longed for in the toy store. The Barbie’s were fun for a while, but they weren’t as amazing as the girls thought they would be.

Isn’t that how it is, though, in life? The things we are SO sure we can’t live without are really only great when they’re unattainable. We only want what we can’t have.

My daughters did this with Barbie’s. I do this, too. If I could just buy that dress, that house, not have to move, sell more books…I could go on. The elusive “if onlys” can plague all of us.

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, tells the believers that he has learned the secret to being content whether he has a lot or a little. And he tells us the secret: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)

ALL things. Including living with the fact we can’t get everything we want. Learning to adjust our dreams to fit reality. Letting go of certain dreams because we trust God’s plans are far better than anything we can plan for ourselves.

Some of us are sure if we can just get __________, we’ll be happy. But like my daughters learned with their Barbie’s, happiness cannot be bought. But joy can be given. We can be content with a little or a lot if we learn to focus on the Giver and not the gifts.