A long shower won't fix this

There is this person I know that takes long showers.  And unfortunately this person is teaching the offspring to 'enjoy' the same.  For some reason, I can not wrap my head around a long shower.

My question: Is a shower's function to get clean or to relax? or both? For me, it serves one purpose.  To do what I need to do to get clean and get out.  My relaxation time occurs when I am sitting or laying down. Not standing up.  More like this...

Ahhhh.  Doesn't this just make you feel like exhaling. Sitting. Coffee. In a clean room. And skinny enough to sit like this.... You get the idea.

So, one day I decided I was going to take a long shower.  I figured I would do the same ol' same ol' but try to take my time and relax.  Well, I got clean and then just stood there wondering what else can I do? I mean I've washed my 4000 parts.

Well maybe not all 4000 parts. I mean what are these 4000 parts?  Is there a list somewhere because maybe that is what I'm missing.

So anyway, I decided to check all the quantities of regularly used products to see if any needed to go on the shopping list.  A person in my house has very little hair on their head.  And yet, I've heard things like "I'm out of shampoo" coming from this person.  What?  You really just need face soap since your face goes over your head.  (Is that too harsh?)  Just speaking truth (and trying to save money) in love, right?  So that took about 30 seconds.

Now what? I saw this face soap I bought awhile ago and use about once a week.  I started thinking about its name/label/claim.

These words "deep clean" and "gentle scrub" made me think about what 'clean' really means.
Without blemish.  Free from marks or stains. Pure. This took another minute of my shower time.

At this point, I was ready to get out of the shower...I was starting to prune up. I think I was in there about 7 minutes...still 1/2 the time of the previously mentioned individual.  I tried.

Long showers are not for me.  But thinking about this 'clean' idea was for me.

So I went straight to my Bible to look up a scripture that came to mind.  Well not straight there but..well there is a story here.

Tis the season (in Virginia) to have the windows open.  Well, this particular day, my loving husband open all the bedroom windows, blinds and all.  So as I came out of the bathroom, pruned and all, lo and behold all the windows were wide open for all to see.

I'm sorry Mr. Garbage man.  And I'm sorry Mr. Postman.  You can just leave your counseling receipt in my mail box. I will try to reimburse you for your trauma.  Ya think a batch of cookies would help erase that vision?

So after that fun/traumatic experience, I was on a mission to find my verse...Psalm 51

In this verse, God is calling His people to cleanse themselves from sin and be ready to serve the Lord.  Its says: "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."

David wrote this Psalm after he repented from his sins...affair with Bathsheba and killing her husband. CRAZY...I don't even watch that kinda stuff on TV and here were are in the Bible talking about "revenge"! 

So he was seeking to the most purest sense of "clean" from God.   

I came out of the shower thinking I was clean and in some ways, I think that is how we deal with our sin.  Just a quick, "sorry God, forgive me God".  But instead He wants a more Deep. Clean. Gentle. Scrub. from us. 

David goes on to reveal is distress to God, he says "hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity."  He felt so much disgrace from what He had done.  He was begging God to not even acknowledge it.  

Have you ever had a day that looked like this?

A long shower would not fix this... 

I'm guessing this is what David wanted to do.  Don't look God.  Turn the other way God. Let me try to hide from you God. 

He was BROKEN. Guilty. CONVICTED.  The Holy Spirit met his heart and decided this was not good. 

John Piper says in one of his books that 'conviction is useless unless our conduct is changed."  What a important truth.    

So when I think about getting 'clean' in a Christian - everyday- I mess up - kinda way, I have to wonder how often am I really broken by my sin?  Changed from conviction?   

And what I need is a deep. clean. gentle. scrub. from God. for all my 4000 parts.

Still I will worship...

This is my little guy in the picture.  I wish I could blow this picture up and make it into wallpaper for the whole house and every house on the street.  Or maybe even make it into thousands of pieces of candy and eat it up. I love it that much.

I know what you are thinking...oh here she goes about her little guy and how awesome and worshipful he is.  Nope...he's four.  He stood like this for a 1/37th of a second as he told me how much he loved me.  Don't worry this post isn't about how much he loves me either.

Its about God.

Have you ever felt like this picture?  So tiny compared to all....  Or so giant in freedom?
Or maybe you have never felt like raising your hands to or for anyone or anything.

There is a new song by Shane & Shane that I am constantly singing to myself.  The first part says...
I come, God, I come
I return to the Lord
The one who's broken
The one who's torn me apart
You struck down to bind me up
You say You do it all in love
That I might know You in Your suffering

Now look at this picture again.  Think about those words in this posture.  I'm in awe.  It really does position my perspective, problems, joys, anxiety, to do list and everything differently.

Then the chorus says:
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need

Now look at this picture again. I know what you are thinking.  If I were saying those words...slay me. take from me. ruin me.  Would I be in this posture? 

The only way I believe you can get from slayed, taken from and ruined to a position of worship is the acceptance that He is enough.  He is worth praising through all this that seems like the end of life.  But in reality, He is not surprised. He is not anxious for you.  He loves you and preparing you to realize that He is enough. 

Look at this picture again. Its a posture of praise to the One who is worthy to be praise, blessed and worshiped no matter what YOUR circumstances. He is in your circumstance. 

But lets step back.  The One we speak of was in a some crazy circumstances too.  He was betrayed. Have you ever been betrayed?  He was beaten and nailed to a cross.   He was slayed. He was ruin. He was taken from.  

For what?  What is so bad that all that had to happen?

You and Me. For our mistakes. For our selfishness. For our thoughts. For our actions.  For our sin.

Look at the picture again.  

What other posture towards God should we have but this one?

The Table

Recently, a friend of mine turned 40 years old.  Her husband planned lots of surprises during her Birthday week but the one that she talked about most was the brunch around 'the table' with her friends.

You see, this wasn't just any table. It had been built as a place for ministry.  This table has seated the important, the foreign, the disabled, poor, and the children. This table's purpose was for warm, genuine, authentic community during a simple meal.  And it was lovely.  And it was purposeful.  It was everyone's table.  Many have celebrated at this Table.  And many have met Jesus at this Table.

I read about this at the beginning of the year but it has stuck with me for so many reasons.  First, it speaks my "Love Language", which is quality time.  Time to prepare. Time to plan. Time with friends.  Time to share. Time to eat.  Yet nothing timed about it.  I love everything to do with time (just ask my husband)!

I also love that it is beautiful and specifically decorated and prepared for my friend...colors, food, flowers, etc.  Just for her.

But ya know what strikes me the most about table?  The live, intentional, authentic community in an age of Facebook friends and online friendships.  There is a deepness here.  This is a place where you ask good questions, you lean in and listen with your heart.   This is a place to gather 'round, scoot your seat up, get another helpin', look at each other and share life together.

The seats at this table don't see age. or race. or background. or education. or clothing.  These seats don't say "Girl, you did what?"  The seats at this table are covered in grace and mercy and love and understanding.  They hear where you've been and how far you have come.  They hear the pain and lean in to hear the comfort coming from another seat.

I want a Table.

Jesus did so many things around the table. It wasn't just a place to gather and eat.  He had motives. He had intentions. He had things He needed to teach and tell.  He showed grace and love at the table.

If you had a table, who would you invite?  For me, I would invite the one who is hospitable, the one who is lonely, the friend, the one who is disabled, the one who loves love and the one who has never known love.  That's just on the first night!  Then I'd invite the hungry, the kind, the hungry, the child, the hungry and missionary.

I love this Table. It's everyone's table. Everyone deserves it. Everyone longs for it's love. And everyone can meet Jesus there.

This is a place we can flourish....



(Picture and story from the Hills)

Flourish

This is a blog for women.  Young and young-ish women.

So pour yourself some coffee, put on pandora and your comfy jeans and pull up chair.  Let's chat.

This blog is for women...

...who need encouragement.
...who have a dark past.

...who need some real relationships.

...who are hungry for authenticity and vulnerability.

...who are ready to DO SOMETHING.

...who have days where they are clear-headed and productive.

...who have days when their brain is mush and they can't even spell J-E-S-U-S!

Women who want to flourish.

Let's face it, we are modern.  We are Single. Married. Divorced. Re-married. Widowed at an early age. We come from all over the place. We have married parents. Divorced parents. Re-married parents.  Widowed parents.  We are High school drop outs.  Valedictorians of our college classes.  Tattooed, pierced and others who are terrified of needles! Those who like to make everything homemade and those who wouldn't know a spatula from a spoon.  Those who love love and those who think love is too complicated. Some who could tell you who wrote Leviticus and those who don't know what Leviticus is. We are different in many ways.

But when it all boils down to it, in some ways we are very similar.  We, as women, want to be known. Heard. Loved. Godly. Most of us want to be good or great at what we do.  Whether its braiding hair every morning or dealing with a hard patient or client you work with, we want to be good.  We want to develop our relationships. our careers. our marriage. our health. our kids. our ideas. our dreams.  

So why don't we? Why are we comfortable in our not-developing-ness?

Here's my thought....

The Lord has been very sweet to me over the last few weeks.  And by sweet, I mean, He created time many moons ago so that all things would not happen at once.  Over the past 3 years, I have prayed for a vision.  A movement.  A challenge.  To make HIS name great among the women in Roanoke.  

So here is what the Lord has laid on my heart.  A movement... 

To be equipped.  To unleash.  To flourish.

To be equipped

To come together and dig into God's word together. To be purposeful with our studies and relationships.  To learn from His word and each other.  To understand our purpose and then go do what He says...   

 

What would this look like?  If we did what God's word said.

  

In your jobs. marriage. aloneness. ministry. parenting. play. joy. sadness. grief. 

In the Church.

“You see. We have become so familiar with God yet so unaware of Him. We make the mysterious mundane. We construct careful reasons for our rules and sensible whys for our behavior. All the while our soul is longing for a richer experience-one that allows us to escape the limits of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell and journey to a place of wild, wonder, and passion.” ~ What Happens When Women Say Yes to God  

I think if we did what God's word said, it would mean...




To Unleash

To be passionate about what the Lord has told you in His word, that you can't help but be serving.  
You know when that song comes on and you can't help but dance or tap or hum or sing.  That is what God's word can do to our hearts...get us moving.
What makes your heart beat? Makes you want to get up in the morning?  What circumstance is someone in that breaks your heart?  Dont wait...be unleashed and go serve, minister!! Take what you have been equipped to do and do it! 

If you are passionate about the widow, go...do.
If you are passionate about the orphan, go....do.
If you are passionate about the drunk, go....do.
If you are passionate about the homeless. the hungry. the wealthy.  the coworker. the housewife. the lonely.  the government.  the broken marriage. the women who had an abortion.  the Gospel.  the single mom.  

BE UNLEASHED.  We want to come with you...We come to help and learn from your passion....
so that we may all...


To Flourish

flour·ish  

Verb  Grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way

Noun A bold or extravagant gesture or action, made esp. to attract the attention of others.

When we aren't developing/growing in our relationship with the Lord, we are stagnant.  Stagnant is not growing. It's still. Without movement. Without boldness. No one is hearing about God's grace and 
AWESOMENESS when we are stagnant.  

Let's flourish.  Let's be developing.  Let's be bold. 

I think about the Bride so often.  I'm super passionate about her. She should flourish. Develop. Be bold to attract the attention of others.  

There is more....stay tuned...