Outcast

I heard this on the radio yesterday and loved it. I'm sharing it now because...

As the mom of a teen, it is hard to see your kid be excluded or treated like an outcast. As a mom your heart breaks when your child's heart breaks. BUT- I would rather have an outcast who stands firm in Christ than a follower who seeks the approval of others over their Creator. Here's to the pure Christian kids wearing their latest bible camp t-shirt, the band geeks, orch dorks, colorful theater queens, and the math/science geniuses who may be tossed aside at school but are dearly loved by their God. Be you. God made you to be you in a world full of look-a-likes.

As a woman, I daily feel the pressure to be thinner, younger, more beautiful, more fashionable. Everywhere I look is the latest trend to buy, the latest diet craze, the latest hair/skin saver. Rarely do I see magazines focusing on the inner strong spirit of woman. We are sold out and exploited. When we don't look the part of pretty dumb girl, we are often over looked entirely. Smart girls are often labeled with bad words, by men and women alike, simply because they lead. We fall into the trap of judging each other because of not looking good enough. We freak out when men gawk at women because of their appearance, but guess what-- women also gawk at women judging their hair to their toenails. Be more than your outside, friends. Be real. Make sure your beauty comes from your heart for God. Stop working so hard on the outside. Work out the spirit.

As a ministers wife, I totally get this. I've said multiple times that I am not a good minister's wife, but for some reason this is who I am. I'm not the kind of girl to buy into being a people-pleaser. I have zero interest in playing a game, role or catering to power player manipulators. This alone makes being a minister's wife in America difficult. In my network of Ministers wives, I have friends who are judged if they don't dress nice enough one week- then judged because they dress too nicely the next. I have ministering friends who are judged because their car is too nice, and minister friends who are mocked for being eccentric if they drive a smart car. I have minister friends who have gay best friends and have been fired or black-balled for it. I have minister friends who get reprimanded for simply sharing the hard news of scripture. I've learned that the gospel is sometimes easier to share with non-Christians than it is with the church.

My guess is there are a few folks out there who may also relate to this song. Press on, my friends. God did not send us with a spirit of fear. God gives us a spirit of power (2 Timothy 1:7).  He made you. He loves you zits, bad hair days, and all. Be you. Rejoice in being an outcast.

To our adolescent angel...

Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember you are only a day over twelve.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember that being a teen doesn't require you to act like a grown up, nor require you to stop cuddling with your stuffed Stitch doll.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember you are only a day over twelve.
You'll feel older.
People may expect more or less.
Be you anyway.
Be thirteen.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember that the reflection in the mirror is never what determines your worth. Never.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember that no friends,
no cute boys,
no judging eyes,
no tv show,
no youtube video,
no Hollywood starlet nor reality tv hottie determine your worth.
God does.
You are a beautiful and perfect reflection of Him. He gave everything for you already- just as you are.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember to be a child, only a day over twelve. God desires a child-like heart from us all. Bask in childhood. It is fleeting.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember to listen to the people around you. People who've lived longer have many rich stories to tell. Appreciate wisdom. Learn.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember you won't ever cease being our princess. You are a child of the only King.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember you are loved,
you are wanted,
you are needed,
but you are not the center of the universe. God is. Keep Him there.
Tomorrow when you turn 13, remember you are our baby.
When we look at you, we see a bundle of pink fluff and tiny gentle fingers.
We see an obstinate toddler refusing to hold our hands.
We see a pea hater.
We see a music lover.
We see a questioner of the status quo.
We see a justice seeker.
We see a faithful champion for Christ.
We see you, our baby, our thirteen year old.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

If wishes were horses...

...then beggars would ride. An old English proverb. It means it is useless to wish unless one applies an action in order to actually accomplish anything. Here's to applying action to our wishes this year!

My children lovingly ask me everyday what I want for Christmas. So here is my list. I've only actually told them about wishes 1 and 3.

My Christmas wish list:

1. I wish for one day that all three of my children would love each other. No fighting. Let's make it bigger! I wish children everywhere would spend one day sharing and joyously living in righteous brotherly kindness all the loving day! One. day.

2. I wish for calorie-free Christmas cookies and the resurgence of reality in the marketing of women's apparel.

3. I wish for my children to know the true meaning and the reality of Christ's birth. That it was quite humble without glowing white robes and snow globe perfection. That he came as a bloody normal baby delivered in a very dirty place with no scalpel to cut the cord with a herd of confused animals all staring at a young frightened teenage girl. Somehow, God in flesh has been sanitized to make us comfortable. Somehow, we still want to make Jesus an earthly king with royal robes. Americans tend to sanitize the lowly Jesus who uses a rock for a pillow in order to make us comfortable with our own abundant riches and down comforters.

4. I wish for the Lord's church to stop name calling and squabbling. I wish half would stop condemning, and I wish the other half would stop condescending. I wish I didn't have labels for my Christian friends. I wish they did not have labels for me. I wish we would open our eyes and see that good people are watching our fights while thinking Why the heck do I want to buy into that? There's more unity at a Metallica concert! I wish we could recognize the power in grace and love and unity. I wish we would all just stop fighting for one day. One. Day.

5. I wish I could see all of my loved ones. I wish I could hug them all in one day. I wish distance was not an issue. Someday, I am counting on this one coming true.

6. I wish sin was no more. I wish pain was history. I wish death was a myth. Someday, this one will come true.

7. I wish we could all see each other as people. I wish for racism to truly be non-existent. I wish sexism was truly a thing of the past. I wish a man could hold open a door for a woman without being accosted, and I wish a woman could be CEO without being labeled a bad mom. I wish red and yellow and black and white neighbors could move in next door and no one would have a panic attack. I wish we all could take pride in our ethnicity or gender without someone getting upset about it.

8. I wish pug dogs were plentiful and that every one loved them as much as I do.

9. I wish that my eyes were consistently open to my own selfish mistakes. I wish I would never hurt another person again with my words or my own inadequacy.

10.  I wish we all had built in radars to detect the hurting. I wish that everyone truly felt the warm and fuzzy Christmas spirit that comes after watching cheesy Christmas movies. I wish Christmas was truly a time of peace for everyone. I wish bad memories didn't abound, and I wish bad relationships didn't destroy holidays. I wish for true peace at a time that the world crams artificial peace/love/joy/happiness down our throats with tinsel and overpriced cards. I wish joy could be felt by those who lost a loved one. I wish peace could be felt by those in the middle of a war zone. I wish happiness could be felt by those who are alone.