Keeping up with the Jones: A Lesson in Faithfulness

Last night we had the unexpected treat of visiting a large, beautiful estate belonging to a family who attends our church in Orange. 6000 square feet of Better Homes and Gardens style rooms greeted us in a jaw-dropping display.

The majority of myself cheered inwardly, "How wonderful that this beautiful home belongs to a Child of God instead of a corporate non-believer or actor!" However, because I'm still slightly human, I felt a twinge of...

Of what? Surely not jealousy. We all know that Children of God are NEVER jealous.

But still I had a silent question, filled with mixed emotions, aimed in the direction of God that roughly translated to "Why Can't I have a house like this!!?"

For the rest of the evening and into the next morning, I waited for God to squelch my uneasiness and restore my peace. My heart said, "Lord, I AM happy with what you have given me, but why can't WE live in Orange county, and why can't I have a studio, and while we're having this discussion, why can't I cook!??"

Then the Lord answered back with the word FAITHFULNESS.

I began to ponder the concept of faithfulness and I found a scripture in Matthew 25:21 "His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord".

Could it be that I am not as faithful as I should be over the things that the Lord has already given me?

The Bible goes on to say, "O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Psalm 31:23.

Proud doer? What is that? Could it be that my service to the Lord is not done proudly? Am I ashamed of the very One I am seeking rewards from? Have I been as faithful a servant to God as I am capable of being? Serving and being appreciative of the things that God has given me instead of asking why I don't have more? What a concept!

With this in mind, I head out to the garage to pull a frozen lasagna out of the freezer. I pass my makeshift photo studio and my eyes land on the crusty, cake covered background from a photo session weeks ago that I never washed off. "Umm, Lord, is that what you mean about being faithful over small things before you will let me be responsible for large things? Maybe I can start with taking care of my backdrops before you turn me loose in a real studio, huh?"

I can almost see Jesus raise an eyebrow.

I look down at the frozen lasagna in my hand. "And uh, Lord..about my cooking..."

Jesus replied, "Be faithful to not burn the frozen lasagna and maybe we'll talk."

Fair enough.

I return to my kitchen, certain that if only I had a Better Homes and Gardens kitchen, my cooking would improve greatly. "Lord, I am beginning to understand about faithfulness but I guar-an-tee-you that I can handle the financial responsibilities of a 6000 sq. foot home. Perhaps we have a trial period, Lord, and let me show you just how faithful I can be?"

Jesus replied with one question. "Can you balance your existing checkbook?".

Oh man. Does my Heavenly Father know me or what!? OK Lord. More Dave Ramsey.

I think I finally have an insight as to why God gives us all different portions and responsibilities. In His infinite wisdom, He know exactly what each of us can handle and He loves us so much that He will not risk us loosing our souls under the weight of a situation we can not handle. When we put our lives in God's hands and we ask him to guide us, we can be sure that He will never lead us wrong. When God says NO, there is a peace in knowing that He has my best interest at heart.

With my peace restored I flop down on the couch, one last thought for God, "I'm truly thankful Lord, but you know, after being in that beautiful home last night, my house feels so...shabby."

And my Heavenly Father replies, "Child, you spend all your time making it shabby! Shabby Chic is your style!"

I laugh outloud, "Right again, Lord!"

As always!

Love My Wall

For our Easter pictures this year we took a considerably more modern approach and I am delighted with how the session turned out! So we decided to make it into a small home improvement project. The prints are gallery canvases and the square canvases measure 14x14 inches with the large family canvas measuring 16x32 inches. Needless to say, we are thrilled with the end result.
When I was taking the pictures, I tried to capture each child's unique personality. Working with Alex though, required 2 different sessions because it can sometimes be quite difficult capturing Alex's essence. Especially with missing teeth. After about the 25th shot, Alex declared that he was going to give me his "smolder" (Imitating the prince from the movie "Tangled") Well Alex smoldered and instantly I knew that image was a keeper. When Alex saw the finished result up on the wall, he began to wail, "Mommy! That's not cool! You got my smolder!"

Pickles on my Eyes

While riding in the car one day, which we do quite a lot of, Jubilee announced from the back seat that when she get's older, she's going to put pickles on her eyes just like mommy.

And suddenly...Light bulb!

I exclaim to my family, "What a great name for a blog! I don't have a blog, but if I did, that would be the name! Pickles on My Eyes!"

Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in 6 words. He accepted the challenge and wrote, "Baby Shoes for Sale: Never Worn".

While this is obviously a more sobering comparison, Jubilee unwittingly yet quite accurately, wrote my story in 4 words.

Pickles on my Eyes: In the spa treatment of life, while everyone else rejuvenates under those proverbial cucumbers, I somehow wind up with pickles! Finding "me" time is as illusive as finding a binkie in the dark. So I thought it would be great to theme my blog on finding spiritual tranquility in the midst of life's hectic schedules and chaos. Rejuvenation in Jesus, allowing Him to be my moments of clarity while soaking in the healing waters of Living Water. Allowing the Savior's soothing hands to massage out the spiritual tension and kinks I have. I'm so thankful for the peace I've found in living a holy life, set apart from the chaos of the world.

And that is the story of how I decided to start a blog. Not only did I have a title just begging to be published but I kept finding it difficult to condense my life's escapades into the limited characters of a status update.

So...friends, family, and especially those who have begged me over the years to write a book, this is for you. A blog of family, faith, humor and hopefully inspiration. I invite you to follow with me as I live life from beneath the pickles.