Driving With the Lights on and Cleaning House

I've been finally letting God touch the hard parts of my life again. It's been so long since I've allowed Him to have full access to everything, not merely the parts of me I'm okay with. I'm well aware I cannot hide anything from God & that He knows more about me than I do, but I also know He won't force anything on me. He's been whispering softly to me, and at last I am acknowledging His voice.

Why do our human selves think of God as an unexpected guest, an important one whose arrival causes us to rush through the house anxiously and remove misplaced objects in an attempt to make it look decent enough for them to complement our beautiful home? The neighbor who's probably going to run their mouths about how much of a wreck our house is! Why must we place so much pressure on ourselves? Our Heavenly Father is not coming into our homes to judge us!

 Rather, He's that friend you call up to ask, "Do You think You could come help me mow the lawn & can I come wash my laundry at Your house later tonight?" He's that friend who comes over uninvited, but you don't mind because He's never condescending to you or your messy home. He's the friend who will actually help wash your dishes without asking just because He loves you & can see you need a little help. He's the observant one who comes by with a roll of paper towels because He noticed you were nearly out. The One who cares for & plays with your pets or children and house sits for you when you're away. The One who truly and forever loves you, no matter how insignificant you are compared to the world and especially the galaxy.

My brother and I were discussing how microscopic we tiny little people are in comparison to the universe. It's mind blowing how pointless our lives seem to be with all this other amazing stuff going on around Earth and beyond what we can see or measure. It makes one want to break down and cry for a while because what's the reason to live when we're practically nothing?

I was driving home the other night, and God's answer to this question hit me so hard I almost had to pull over for a minute. I looked out my windshield at all of those man-made lights on the horizon, and just when I was about to say something negative about them, God's gentle whisper poured into my thoughts, and it was the most simple thing I had heard all day. "Each and every single light you see out there has a specific purpose."

Think about it. Have you ever heard of a man-made light having no reason for operating? Even a disco light has its purpose! Many Christmas lights will not work properly if one is busted, either. If runways, towers, and lighthouses did not exist, aircraft & ships would not be able to operate at night. Football & other sports would not go past dark without stadium lights. Televisions & other entertainment could not function like they do today without lights.

God is here to help me clean house and to shine my light where it's needed in this world. I'm extremely important & significant to Him as well as the people in my life. So I better tackle the difficult stuff & let God take the wheel so He can help me point the light He's given me in the right direction.

Becca

Just a Little Rest

Well... This is the second week in a row I'm working overtime at my job of two months. Texas Roadhouse is such a fast-paced place to work, and just like my work shirt says, I love my job. The atmosphere gives me the opportunity to be my loud, energetic, fast-walking self. I appreciate everyone I work with, even the extremely unpleasant ones, since they help shape my character and adapt in stressful situations. The customers are an extreme influence on how well I work - if they're not happy, I work harder to serve them better. If they don't tip, I let it go and move on to the next customer. I don't care how many times I have to make sweet tea every day, if nobody else is doing it I'm on it. There's nearly always something to do at work.

Which means I'm on my feet all day, occasionally finding rest in a bathroom stall. This combined with some of the negative vibes radiating off some of my coworkers has stirred up a small amount of bitterness within me, which I am fighting off diligently with my own vibes of love, peace, and happiness. It's the only thing I can really do to continue loving my job and my life. I come home every night between midnight and 2am, take care of my dogs as well as my sister's dog and our cats, and I'm finally in bed by 3:30am. I wake up between 9 and 11 each morning, but I'm up at 8 on the days I work a double shift. Long story short, I am absolutely exhausted all of the time now.

On top of this new sleep schedule I have, I usually get to catch up on my schoolwork before I drive an hour to get to work.

To make a long story short, I feel as if I have little breathing room, I miss church, and I haven't seen any of my grandparents or cousins in years. There's no play time for this college student. No rest.

But I'm finally able to save money and pay for my own gas rather than asking my parents! At 23, it's about time to hold myself up. I'm tracking my budget and feel like I've become more responsible than I've ever been. I think this job is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I have God to thank for it.

Today, I have found a moment of rest.

Becca

Twice Microwaved Potatoes

I have desired making twice baked potatoes since I saw a mother make them on her cooking show a few months ago. Finally, I decided to try my hand at them.

Except, I was only making one, so I chose to microwave it instead. No need to use a giant oven for one potato! This recipe is extremely easy and only requires a tiny bit of work.

Start by rinsing your potato with cold water, poking it with a fork a few times, and rinsing your potato again.

Microwave it by pressing the 'Baked Potato' button, or microwave on high for 4 minutes then flip your potato and microwave for 3 minutes if you don't have a 'Baked Potato' button. Allow your potato to stay in the microwave for a minute.

Next, you want to cut your potato in half long ways and scoop all of the potato out of the skin and into a bowl. Keep the skin on the plate for later.

Mix the potatoes with whatever ingredients you'd like. I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, a couple generous squirts of bacon flavored Hidden Valley Ranch, a splash of vanilla almond milk, bacon bits, cheese, a tiny bit of Cajun seasoning, and black pepper (I would have also added sour cream, but unfortunately my family was out of it).

Scoop all of the potato back into the skin halves. Don't worry, it's supposed to be pretty much overflowing. You just added a bunch of ingredients to make it fluffy, creamy, and thicker than when it was just potato. You also can add an extra layer of cheese on top.

Now you should microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, give or take depending upon your microwave. After the layer of cheese melts completely, take it out of the microwave and add an extra squirt of ranch on top if you'd like.

Finally, enjoy your amazing creation and be proud of it! Doesn't it look great?

I hope my little Twice Microwaved Potato inspires you and you enjoy it as much as I just enjoyed mine!

Becca

And Now for the Wrath of God

Coincidentally, a scripture I read this morning plays off of the one I spoke of yesterday. It's neat how the Lord does that to me. The scripture says, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them" (Romans 1:17-19).

So, what I'm understanding is this: if I hide the Truth using my sin (hold the truth in unrighteousness) then God shows me His incredible power against my sins (His wrath; my ungodliness & unrighteousness). God gives me His righteousness, and I know what it is because He gives me that wisdom. He has revealed this to me through my faith.

Okay, that wrath of God part sounds extremely intense. I've never seen the wrath of God revealed from heaven!

Or haven't I?

I don't believe our Heavenly Father sends a hurricane or plague each time He sends His wrath. In fact, just like every sin is different according to man, God reveals things to man differently according to His will. Does that make sense?

A depressing example is a car wreck involving a drunk driver. Most of them, it saddens me to say, result in the sober people in critical condition or dead and the drunk usually walks away with minor injuries. In all actuality, I know the drunkard has the deepest wounds because he's the one who has to live with his guilt.

Not that God wanted that wreck to happen or any injuries to occur. Not that He Himself caused the wreck. But God is mysterious and utilizes tragedies to purify man. I believe this to be a kind of wrath of God.

Another, more minor (and quite silly) version can be the days when I fail to properly take care of my dogs and one or all of them have accidents in their kennels. I should care for them rather than cover up righteous living with my slothfulness. It's a rather smelly wrath of God, one which I have hopefully learned from by now.

There's a variety of wraths of God which we tend to overlook. He comes to us in so many forms, so many colors, so many sounds. I believe it's time to recognize His wrath as what it is: an act of His love for us.

Becca

Man's Wrath

In James 1:19-20, we are told, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

I don't know about you, but sometimes this is extremely difficult for me to live by. Just the other day, I felt my blood boiling over the simple matter of my dog begging for food at 11:30pm because he had skipped breakfast and dinner.

My dog isn't the kind of dog who will eventually stop whining after hours of being ignored. No, in fact, he will start whining louder and eventually resort to barking until you give him what he desires. This behavior is much like what my sister's dog does, and we have tried all of Caesar's tricks to get them both to stop. Spidey and Cally, my two smaller dogs, do not engage in this annoying habit very often, and for that I'm thankful.

On this particular night, I was so exhausted from going non-stop all day long that Kudo's whining was frustrating me. I fed him dinner earlier that night, took him out three times, gave him water, and even let him play for around twenty minutes. Yet he was persistent and getting louder by the minute. If I fed him, I feared he would have an accident in the middle of the night, but if I ignored him he'd wake the family.

It sounds insignificant, but for an exhausted, hard-working lady of twenty-three, it couldn't have been going worse. I threw food in his bowl, unlocked his kennel door, tugged on his collar, and fussed at him to eat.

This moment is one I am not proud of. My anger took the best of me, and a poor little dog was griped at when all he needed was some food. This negative reaction to a negative situation caused me to have a sleepless night. If I had just been slow to anger, if I had just been swift to hear his cries and understand what he needed, my wrath would not have gotten the best of me.

These are the moments God uses in my life to train me in his righteousness. It's not the times when I feel loved, peaceful, or serene. Actually, it's when I feel like pulling my hair out, crying myself to sleep, or crawling under a rock.

Becca

The One Who Talks to the Almighty

Although I know he's joking, it's cool that someone refers to me as 'the one who talks to the Almighty', because there's truth in this. I do speak to God. He asks me, "have you talked to the Almighty today?" every time he sees me, which puts a ton of pressure on me even if he's merely teasing. I feel like I have a reputation to uphold, and if my answer to his question is "no, I haven't talked to Him today," I have this sense of letting not only him down, but God and myself, too.

It seems silly to me, but it means a lot and makes me want to strive to be something more than just another customer, another family member, another stranger, or another friend. This simple crossing of two separate souls is a moment to grow or a moment to let only myself down. That's the ultimate truth, the fact that I will let nobody else down other than myself.

I need to choose to challenge my faith by spending time with God every morning. That way, when this humorous man follows up by asking, "And what did He say to you?" I can boldly and unwaveringly respond with a truth I can be proud of. I know this isn't the basis of my prayer, but it is an encouragement for me to engage in more time being with God.

Becca

Sympathize Button on Facebook

So, I heard on the radio the other day that Facebook developers are going to start working on a 'sympathize' button. No more liking that someone's car broke down, then having to awkwardly explain what you truly mean in the comments section.

Personally, I see the 'like' button as more of an 'agreement' button. You're agreeing with the other person that it sucks to have the car break down. But ...if they make this sympathy button, we'll use it, won't we?

Should be implemented in the next year.

Unfortunately, they refuse to make a 'dislike' button due to its potentially offensive nature. Like enough people don't get mad about Facebook junk already... a 'dislike' button would not make matters any worse. Of course, these are the opinions of one single person.