Cottonwood Again?

HOPE S.H.A.R.E.D. (Share How Abba Relates Every Day)

(pic from Power Point clip art) 

Every year about this time, the seeds of cottonwood trees in cottony masses float innocently through the air.  After three days in a row of outside activities, even with allergy medication, I'm ready for the madness to stop.  I'm having a sneezing fit as I write this blog!  As I think about cottonwood, it reminds me of three changes.

First:  Cottonwood reminds me of changes of seasons: Spring! (which means Summer is around the corner!).  I love Spring (but would love it more without cottonwood).  It's a time of outdoor soccer, grilled food (less cooking for me and more grilling for my awesome griller husband), outdoor dining, with ends in sight (end of school, end of activities, end of highschool, college, or in my house: elementary school).

Secondly:  Cottonwood reminds me of changes in allergies.  This means: stock up on allergy medication, kleenex, and expect more kleenex  in the laundry (Is it ok to reuse kleenex after its been laundered?  Probably. Right?).  I've also realize my reaction to a sneeze has changed.  My reaction before children: "God bless you."  My reaction when one of my children sneezes: yelling, "Where's the kleenex?" (It's usually when I'm driving, which results in tossing a kleenex box at the sneezer.  And after three children a sneeze becomes, "Where's the bathroom?" (ladies you will understand this one).

Finally:  Cottonwood reminds me of changes in communication. My husband (R) and I will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary next Tuesday.  We communicate much differently (hopefuly better) than we did when we dated.  Cottonwood effected our communtication early in our relationship.  I must back up and tell the whole story for you to understand. 

My husband's friend that lived in Dallas, TX invited us to stay with him to visit Six Flags.  R bought Six Flags tickets before we left to receive a discount.  When we stopped to get gas, R had me check to make sure we had the tickets he placed in the glove box.  I checked, put them back, and we drove to Texas.   

The next day, we arrived when Six Flags opened anticipating a great day together.  I opened the glove box to get the tickets.  To our surprise, no tickets.  Really?  I know I saw them and put them back.  We searched the car, our luggage, my purse, no tickets.  Exasperated, we decided to buy tickets at the gate.  Neither one of us wanted to take the blame for the missing tickets.  Before this argument, three months of dating, we had only disagreed about who had to pick where we would eat.  We didn't have much practice in conflict resolution.  Our solution: silence.  We only talked to each other to decide where to go next.

Then unprepared, the cottonwood flying around reeked havoc on my allergies: eyes watering, nose running like a faucet, and sneezing uncontrollably.  Now, in between lines we had to find a bathroom to stock up on toilet paper, which made my nose red.  Miserable!

We loved roller coasters.  Because we went in the middle of the week, the short lines allowed us to ride roller coaster after roller coaster.  Sometimes we rode the same ride two times without getting off.  You'd think no lines was ideal.  However, if you'd had cottonwood allergies, need kleenex constantly, and feel terrible, it created a problem.  It shouldn't have surprised us when I finally "tossed my cookies" on a roller coaster.  Thankfully I got sick at the end of the roller coaster, and the darkness hid most of it.  After that, R said, "I guess its time to go."  Yes! What a terrible day!

Cottonwood reminds me of how our communication has changed.  Our communication has improved since then.  We deal with conflict resolution very differently.  We don't choose the silent treatment any more (maybe we should sometimes). 

This also made me think about my communication with God.  Do I communicate more, and more effectively now, than I did when I first became a follower of Jesus?   Better than last year?  Just like I want my communication to improve with my husband, I also want to work on my communication with God through prayer.

What about you? Do you believe there is a God?  Do you have a friendship with Him?  How is your communication?




P.S.  We found the tickets a few months later when R had to replace his car battery.  The tickets had slipped behind the glove box through the small space above the glove box.  We can't agree to this day who should take the blame.

Wasted Day

Last Friday as I walked by my laundry room, an unfamiliar sound caught my attention.  Only on my second load of about five, the washing machine made a "click, click, click" sound during the spin cycle.  "That cannot be good," I thought.  And it wasn't.  My twelve year old machine had decided to retire.  Really?  We just replaced a garage door spring the week before.   And, ironically I mentioned my washing machine on my "one thousand gifts" list earlier in the week.   

Saturday, I woke up with a mission: find a new washing machine.  No problem.  I could do this!  I had a plan.  I had the money (thanks to the hardworking and planning of my husband). I had the time (thanks to my husband taking the girls to Home Depot to create woodwork and memories.  Have a mentioned I have the BEST husband!).  How long could it take anyway?  A couple of hours?  Did I ask God for His help?  No.

I started with internet research.  Which machine could I afford and highly rated by other people?  After an hour, I had narrowed my search from two-thousand- twenty- nine- and a half machines to "the perfect" washing machine.  Did I ask God for His help?  No.

Next goal: find a place with the best price.  And more importantly, find the place that would deliver it to my laundry room ASAP.  I could order it online and have it delivered by Monday.  I guess that would work.  I made a road trip to the nearest store to take a gander at the product before I ordered it.  Great!  Just what I wanted.  I asked the store associate about it.  She had it in stock and could have it delivered on Tuesday.  Tuesday?  Online it said Monday.  She wouldn't budge without a $20 fee to have it delivered on Monday.  So, I decided to return home to purchase it online and have it delivered on Monday.  Did I ask God for His help? No.

The next two hours are the hours I wish I could take back (wasted day).  I had determined what washing machine I wanted, from where it would come, and when it would be delivered.  My plans did not match up to the company's, in which I would purchase the perfect machine.  I thought I had my transaction complete, when my rarely used store credit card, needed to receive 15% off, wouldn't work.  I needed to talk to credit card services and then complete the order.  The associate said she would call me back in ten minutes.  After forty minutes and no call, I decided to start over with a different associate.  By the time I finished the transaction, she said my machine could be delivered TUESDAY.  What?  This began a string of calls (I'll spare you the details).  With each call, my voice sounded less pleasant, my demands got greater, and I finally did not even sound like a Jesus follower (No, I didn't curse.  But my attitude was UGLY!)  When it was all said and done, I received $30 off and free installation, but it would not be delivered and installed until WEDNESDAY.  Ugh!  Did I ask God for His help? No.

While I waited on hold several times and talked to several associates about my purchase, I had the time to continue to look for the same machine at a different company.  I know I had already looked at this, (I wrote down "delivery 3/17/12" and marked it out).  But now, I found the same machine for $120 cheaper and delivery as early as the same day.  I received my washing machine the next afternoon.  I did not deserve this.  Did I ask God for His help.  No.

So, why the long story?  Later Saturday night when I finally took time to pray, God spoke in a whisper, "You never asked for my help."  Does God really want to help us with shopping?  Yes.  God says to pray about everything (Ephesians 6:18 says, With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit...).  How would my wasted day have been different if I asked for help?  Would God have given me a better deal and faster delivery?  Maybe.  Would I have wasted the time on the phone instead of enjoying the beautiful day with the girls?  Maybe.  But I wouldn't have had a bad attitude.  I will never know because I didn't ask for help.

God reminded me, as a Jesus follower, that prayer is not just part of my relationship with Him, it IS my relationship.  If I'm not praying about everything, I'm relying on ME, not HIM.  Because prayer is a two-way conversation, (not just me asking God for this or that),  I need to ask God about everything and listen to His answer.  It's easy to ask God to help with the "big stuff".  But, nothing is "too small" for Him. (Asking is just one aspect of prayer.  Don't forget about praise, forgiveness, thankfulness...many, many, blog posts :))

Today as I busily picked up my house, I came across a plastic bag of vacuum cleaner dirt, fuzz, etc.  I remembered I dumped it on Friday, after I realized I may have vacuumed up a necklace pendant.  Thinking about this post, I prayed that God would help me find the pendant if I had vacuumed it up.  Guess what!  I found it within 30 seconds.  I'm not saying God will always give you anything you want when you ask.  God is not a genie.  But, it's about your relationship with Him.  Do you even ask?  I do think God blessed me with a quick answer to show me I should pray about everything, even a small necklace pendant.

Jesus follower, What can you do on your own that you think is "too small" to pray about?  God wants to help.

Lessons from Last Year's Fear Part II

The story continues... (you may need to read the last post first " Lessons from Last Year's Fear")

The ER Dr. admitted her into the hospital over night because she couldn’t walk.  The next morning, she still had difficulty walking to the bathroom, but progressively got better throughout the day.  The pediatric Dr. took blood work and decided to do a heart echocardiogram and EKG due to elevated  white blood count (WBC )and sed rate (rate of inflammation).  Everything checked out fine, praise the Lord!  The Dr. discharged her because clinically she was much better, but he couldn’t explain why she got better so quickly.  He also warned that , "she may not be out of the woods yet".  Even though all the tests showed her heart functioning normally, it did not mean her heart wouldn’t be affected later.  He instructed us to call our pediatrician if there were any changes.  She finally came home around 5:00 p.m.

The snow storm came as expected, making the roads questionable for travel.   A friend offered to take me to see her in the hospital, but we thought she would be home sooner than she did.  I also had two other girls to consider.  So, my battle continued.  Faith or Fear?  Besides the step I shared in the last post (Focus on the Present), I also had to:

 

I.                      Focus on the Proof.

 With my daughter, I had to focus on truth, the facts, not fantasy.  The facts: she had strept throat, taking medication, swollen ankles, rash, not walking, ER, tests, good test results.  Later: feeling better and home.  Fantasy:  internet search.  I had Jadyn dying of leukemia in three weeks.  I continually had to ask, "What are the facts?"

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (NIV)

To overcome fear, I also had to:

 II.                  Focus on the Plan.

With my daughter, I had to choose a  plan of action.  I needed freedom from fear, or

my inaction would freeze me with fear.

I took these three actions:

           1) Prayer 
          I prayed and called my family to pray, even at 11:00 p.m.  

Philippians 4:6 says,“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

                             2)  Profess Promises

Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

                      I claimed the promise of peace.  If I would pray with thanksgiving like Philippians 4:6 says, the promise of peace in verse 7 results.  I needed peace to guard my heart and especially my mind.  I experienced the peace beyond what I could understand just as verse 7 promises.   

                                3) Praise

I cranked the music and praised God during the day, sometimes singing at the top of my lungs.  I could not stay fearful when I focused on God, not self.

I'd like to say that is the end of the story.  She came home and we lived happily ever after.  But "happily ever after" stories only happen in fairy tales.  I'll share the rest next time.
 (You may want to sign up by e-mail or join this site, so easy to do.  God Bless!   

What about you?  What action do you need to take with your fears?  Do you need to pray about a situation, instead of fear.  Profess the promise of Philippians 4:6-7 to have peace?  Or praise to place the focus on God?

To continue the story:  Lessons from Last Year's Fear Part III

Praying it Safe

Oklahoma’s recent earthquakes have gotten my family’s attention.  The 5.6 earthquake caused my middle daughter to awaken and jet across the house in fear.  The earthquakes not only shook our house, but shook up my prayer life.  (After reading this, I believe you will understand why I chose the title “Simply Spilling.”)  I got to thinking (scary, I know).  What do I say to my eight-year-old daughter that will make her feel safe enough to stay in her own bed after feeling an earthquake?  Do I tell her, “Don’t worry, God will protect you.”?  But then, what happens to her beliefs if God chooses to allow another major earthquake, possibly injuring her?  Do I tell her, “We can pray for safety, but God may not choose to protect us?”  Is that praying with faith and confidence?  Do you see my dilemma?  I told her, “God has the power to protect us.  Jesus knows what we need.  We need to trust God.”  For the first time in a scary situation, I didn’t ask God for His protection.  Since then, I’ve been asking, “Was that wrong?”

I’m so glad my friendship with God is so personal.  My prayer life is an ongoing conversation with the Creator and Savior of this universe.  Wow! I’m still learning about prayer, the amazing privilege as a follower of Jesus.  I want to grow in this aspect of my journey, so I continue to ask God to teach me to pray.

Here’s three questions/answers to ponder regarding prayer.

1.         Did Jesus teach his disciples to pray for protection?    Matthew 6:9-13

“Pray, then, in this way:
 ‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
^10’Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Jesus taught them to pray for protection from temptation and  evil.

2.        Did Jesus pray for protection for his followers?

 John 17:15-19 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus prayed to keep them from the evil one.

3.        Did Jesus pray for His own protection?

As Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane just hours before he would die on the cross, it says in Luke 22: 41b-42,  He knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”  In this passage “this cup” represents the wrath of God.  Jesus knew he would experience God’s rejection because of the sins of people of all time that would be placed on Him on the cross.  He would also experience an unbelievable amount of  physical torture.  No wonder he wondered if there was any other way. So yes, Jesus asked for protection, but with “if you are willing”.  His prayer didn’t stop there.

Jesus, because He was God, could have prayed for God’s protection from the cross, but Jesus knew there was no other way to provide forgiveness.  His prayer “Father, if You are willing,” shows Jesus believed God the Father had the power to rescue Him.  Jesus’ final and most significant prayer that led him to the cross declared, “yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

My conclusion:  Still not sure, but I feel I pray “safe” prayers.  Jesus keep me safe.  Keep my family safe.  Keep my house safe.  Keep our finances safe.  I want to learn to pray as Jesus did, “keep me safe from the evil one” and “Not my will, but yours be done.”

*I also realize using only three scripture passages is just skimming the surface of the major subject of prayer.  You may have some comments that will help on this subject.  Please use scripture reference, if possible.