Funny Mirrors that Talk

Okay, so this guy walks into a bar.....

What do you get when you cross....?

Did you hear the one about...?

Those are all relatively harmless lines...UNTIL they come out the mouths of children...in front of your parents/minister/elderly neighbor/other kids.  Your mind automatically goes back to the last time YOU said that and how YOU ended it.  Rut-ROH!  The look of mortification spreads across your face as you worry how they're going to end it.

We've all done it.  We can joke, tease each other, say something off-color, or even 'insult' each other and know that it's all in fun.  We can see the humor in it.  We only do it around people who KNOW we don't really mean it.

Yeah, kids don't always pick up on those nuances...So, they don't filter themselves quite as well...

But when we hear those words back, maybe that's God reflecting back to us how things sound when they come out of our mouths.

Funny as they may be, maybe we shouldn't be saying them in any company, much less the short people (children) in our world.  Are these jokes really glorifying God?  Are they really honoring Him?  Are WE the Jesus that others need to see?  We may encounter someone who needs to see Jesus, and we're busy showing them our backsides so-to-speak. 

If you have to change the words to the joke based on who you're telling it to, maybe you should just keep it to yourself.

NOW....I'm not preaching from a high horse, here.  I'm one of the biggest offenders!  Oh MY GOODNESS!  And I am continually reminded by my own 'Funny Mirrors that Talk'.  And, they're REALLY funny!

It's RIDICULOUSLY humbling to say, "I don't want to hear that coming out of your mouth" when it just came out of your own mouth.  They are ABSOLUTELY hysterical and have quick wits that are not to be matched by anybody!  I often joke that we need to teach them the 'whens' to using such a gift/curse.  I don't want to get a call from school that one has just been flattened because he joked with the wrong guy.

Let's try to keep each other accountable so we don't 'step in it'!  Who's with me?

If you wouldn't tell Jesus...maybe you shouldn't tell anybody...*she said to herself*

I'll leave you with this:

Philippians 4:8

New International Version (NIV)

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.

Purple Mirrors

If you're new to my blog, please take a second to read my first few posts...the whole God Mirror may concept may become clearer.  (Pun intended)
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Whoa, God.

I. HEAR. YOU! 

You are in charge and have the perfect plan!  And even if it's not our plan, you have wonderful ways of revealing it that can unite an entire community!

Anybody who is Facebook friends with me knows what I'm talking about...

God showed me a totally new mirror in 2013.  The Crane Family.  Sarah Crane is a wonderful 15-year-old girl whose love and faith united people from all over the globe.  She was diagnosed with Stage Four colon cancer in July 2013. 

What?!?  15 with Stage 4 colon cancer!?!?  Yup.  That's what I said.  She was one of (if not) the youngest people in America to have this diagnosis.

Did she let it get her down?  Did she let it define her life here on Earth?  No way, Jose!  Sarah FOUGHT with every ounce of energy she had!  And with a SMILE on her face!  Not only her, but her family also fought alongside her.   Sarah had been known to say that others had it worse than her.  I'd say that's wisdom beyond her years...or GODLY wisdom!

Some may say that Sarah's God Mirror was broken...if it was telling her to keep smiling and fighting and to not let it get her down because others had it worse than she did.  I may have been one of those people...*she wrote ashamedly*  I'd say cancer really IS a big deal! Ummm...Yeah!  It sucks!

What we have learned is that Sarah's mirror was probably clearer than any of ours!  Maybe she couldn't see the entire path ahead of her, but she could see the Pathfinder and had her trust in him!

Sarah's path was one of unity.  It all started out as a way to raise a little money and get shirts for friends who wanted to support the family.  It was there that SARAHSTRONG was born.  Big sis and a family friend said, "Wouldn't it be great if we could sell like 100!?"  Well, 9,000+ shirts (hoodies, long-sleeved- and t-shirts, and other items) later, I'd say it was PHENOMENAL.

SARAHSTRONG began to grow little-by-little and I said "Hey, let's start a facebook group so you don't have to keep repeating everything.  You can update once and everyone can read.  This idea that was set out to share with family and friends grew, blossomed, and EXPLODED into a group of more than 11,000.  This group includes photos of many celebrities (Tom Cruise, Cee Lo Green, Bon Jovi, etc) holding a SARAHSTRONG shirt.  We shared her story and asked for prayer everywhere we went.   Sarahstrong is a group that is still active long after she lost (or some might say won) her battle with this hideous disease. (www.facebook.com/groups/sarahstrong)

Sarah followed her Pathfinder Home on December 7, 2013.  She was healed by the Ultimate Physician.  The SARAHSTRONG community not only rallied around the family, it continued to grow!

This wonderful family succeeded in turning an entire community purple (because it was Sarah's favorite color) in just a few short months.  It was unity and healing that Elkhart had been missing for quite some time!  And the joy of it all is that Elkhart is still SARAHSTRONG, and so is Sarah's family.  The SARAHSTRONG foundation will launch in mid 2014 with the purpose of paying-it-forward to other families in need and donating to childhood cancer research.  There's even a 5K in March!  www.sarahstrong.org if you're interested!  You can run it in your own hometown or in Elkhart with an amazing community! 

This young lady who, out of nowhere, learned of this miserable disease did not back down.  She looked it right in the eye and vowed to beat it (I believe more than a few of us said 'kick its ass').  I believe she did beat it, just not in the way we had all hoped.  She is now healed and well and kickin' it with Jesus.  I believe that's an ultimate ending we all hope for.

We saw God in this beautiful young lady with a beautiful heart and soul.  I think she was our Purple God Mirror.  I pray that we all approach life and struggles with the same strength and resolve as Sarah.  Rest in Peace, Sarah.  Whether we knew you well, met you, or just heard your story, you've changed us all.  I thank God for sharing us with her for 15 short years and I thank her family for letting us all tag along for the journey.  I hope you never stop hearing stories of how Sarah has affected people positively.

Last, but not least, in Sarah's honor and memory, PAY IT FORWARD.  It can be big or small, anonymous or not...but give to one another as Sarah always wanted to make others happy.

I shall bring all of my major challenges to my Purple Mirror from now on!

This logo (minus the wings and wording underneath) is what we all wear when we're feeling #SARAHSTRONG!

Salt & Light

This last week at church (a great little church called Three Cross Ministries) back home in Elkhart, Pastor Jeff Lewis preached on the idea of being salt and light to the world.  It was a great sermon that really spoke to me and my God Mirror theory. 

God needs us to be salt and light to the world.  A world that has become bland and dark.  We need to speak truth to others. Most of the time, the truth we, as Christians, know, is not what the World wants to hear.  It does add flavor and color to our surroundings to not be the popular ones, and not blend in. 

This whole sermon kept drawing me back to the concept that our lives need to show others what God is and what he feels.  They need to reflect Him to the world.  His word has never told us that this would be easy, but that the rewards are innumerable.

What are some ways we can reflect God to those around us?  Let's think about some of the things that God is.
God is Love.  So, how do we love each other?  We pay attention to each other.  We spend time with each other.  We think about each other.  We support each other.  We build each other up.

God is also Truth.  Truth is clear.  Truth is not always pretty.  Truth is not always easy to hear.  Truth helps us grow.  Truth teaches us. 

Everything I can think of about God brings me back to those two things.

We need to learn the balance of loving and caring for those around us, while not letting go of God's truth.  This does not mean we must be boring sticks-in-the-mud.  We can still add our flavor to our families and friends, but we must also keep the Light of God shining in our actions and words.

If there's a magic pill to make these things easy, I've never seen it, but it will always work to His Glory. 

My goal is to make myself available to God and His will.  He will take care of the details, sometimes, even down to the point of putting the right words in our mouth when we're not able to do it on our own.

I hope all of you reading this find a way to let God work through you.  It's as much a blessing to the vessel as it is to those we love and encounter!

God Bless, and thanks for reading!

Interesting questions and funny sayings...

I just finished reading Single Dad Laughing's blog on things you thought you'd never have to say out loud to your children.  CRACKED me UP!  Now, I'd like to hear from you the most memorable questions from your kids you've ever had to answer...and how you handled it.  Let's also toss in the funny things your children have said to you out of the blue.  It's a sad day when you realize your kids may actually be funnier than you are! 

Please share! 

I'll start:  My boys were probably 4 & 5 and they came up to me and asked...'What are these balls behind my penis?'... Uhhh...Go ask your dad... then, when they asked two days later, all I could come up with was, "They are called testicles, and your body will use them later."  The response? "But What do they do?"...Again, "They're called testicles, and your body will use them later!"

I'll add more later when others have answered, too...I love my funny kids... Or, as my middle son has said, "We have ONE Messed Up Family!"  That, we do... and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Dream Job

So, what is your dream job?  What would you be THRILLED to wake up every day and do?  What job would assure that you go to bed with a smile every night.  Outside of being a talent scout for the Chippendales/Hooter Girls (depending on what floats your boat)...Tell me about the job that you would LOVE to have.

For me, it came to me at work today.  I have always noticed random things...today I was noticing that all the streets in a particular neighborhood had an Alice in Wonderland theme to them.  My own neighborhood has Colorado-based street names.  A friend lives in a neighborhood with streets named after NFL teams!  How cool would that be to live on COLTS Ct?

Anyway, I decided that my dream job would be to help come up with street names and themes for the neighborhoods.

Digital Woods: BRB Blvd - TTYL Trail - WTH Way - LOL Lane - OMG Drive....

How about Comedian Cove?  Tosh Trail - Regan Road - Dat Phan Drive - Ron White Way - Cable Guy Court - Foxworthy Place - Chevy Chase Court - Dan Akroyd Ave....

Maybe go Pop Culture.  - Lady GaGa Lane - Katy Perry Court - Eminem Way - Taylor Swift Trail - The Hannah Montana Clubhouse - Big Time Rush Road.

Oohhh... POLITICS! Obama Lane (It's a dead end road with lots of turnover - People don't live there very long) - Bush Blvd - Chaney Court - Biden Blvd... -- and for my Indiana friends... Daniels Drive - Bennett Blvd - Coats Court -- Even going vague... Election Lane - Primary Place - Voter Blvd - Polling Place - Recount Court - Senator Street - Representative Road - Fillibuster Blvd - Elephant Way - Donkey Drive (I could go on forever...)

I can tell you, though, that there are some roads I, personally, wouldn't be caught dead living on.  There's a road in my little corner of America that's name resembles something that might happen after a bad order of sushi.  It's called Sharsted Ct.  Seriously?!?  Would YOU move onto a road that sounds like you didn't quite make it to the restroom after you mistakenly trusted a fart?  If you've ever driven south through Kentucky, you've probably passed Stinking Creek Road.  How romantic to meet the man/woman of your dreams and when they come over to meet your family you actually have to say "turn left on Stinking Creek Road" ... Kind of kills the mood, doesn't it?  I'm pretty sure I passed that one on the same trip that I drove past Bucksnort, Tennessee. 

I'll address unfortunate City names and ironic/unfortunate last names in another entry.

Seriously, though...Where else could I combine my love of writing with my warped affinity for grammar and alliteration and make money?!  I mean, my kids don't appreciate my humor, but someone might... Maybe even enough to pay me to do it!?!  Anyone?  Anyone.... Bueller...

Share some of your favorite/least favorite road names/and neighborhood themes. 

Friends are pretty fantastic mirrors, too

"Have you been writing?"

"I'm waiting to read...." 

I have many friends out there who are wonderful, but one, in particular, has been my biggest encourager in this venture.  Thanks so much for that!  You know who you are. For you and because of your encouraging, I've come to a conclusion.

I have a hunch that in order to continue writing this little blog, I'm going to have to wander away and back to my initial 'theme'....although the title will remain. 

I just feel like right now I'm writing the same entry over and over.  So, I'm going to begin letting my mind wander and see what comes out.

I'm sure many topics will come from my children.  Funny little people, they are..  :)

If you're reading this, thanks for hangin' with me and my randomness in posting.  I'll resolve to be better about blogging in 2011! 

If you have a favorite kid story, remind me and I'll try to make it interesting to others, too!  :)

God Bless!

Different Subjects: Different Mirror

I noticed this week (as I'm spending time with just me and the kids) that your God Mirror changes depending on who's looking in it. 

If kids are looking at you, they need to see themselves as God does...as children who need guidance, discipline, and boundaries.

If a person who's hurting is looking into your God Mirror, they may need to see how God loves them no matter what they're going through.

If someone is a little too self-righteous, maybe they need to see that from us, too...of course, in the loving way that God would show them.

Keeping our eyes and hearts focused on God, he'll make sure we know what each person we meet needs reflected back to them.  Looking toward Him will lead us all along the right path, and keep our own God Mirrors in check.  Don't forget, we need to check ours constantly, too.

Although it seems like a lot of stuff to keep track of, all we need to do is keep track of our relationship with God, and he'll guide us the rest of the way.

Here's to hoping that your God Mirror is clean and shiny every day!

God Bless!