BET YOU BITE A CHIP!

Have you ever taken a big bite of a cookie thinking it was chocolate chip, then suddenly with gooey tongue feeling disappointment realized it was RAISINS? EWE! Gross... it is decision time. What do you do? Do you spit, spew or smile and chew... the choice is up to you.


Maybe it was not a sneaky raisin cookie. Perhaps you took a big drink of what you thought was cold apple cider only to find it was unsweetened iced tea. Maybe you mistakenly grabbed someone else's coffee, thinking it was going to be some sort of mocha delicious sweetness and got extra strong blackness. Maybe you thought it was gonna be cream filled and it was custard. I do not know what it is you may have bitten into or mistakenly swallowed, but somehow, somewhere, something sneaked into you.

In life we often "bite" into or "swallow" things we never expected. Relationships, addictions, jobs even  purchases. We get into something only to realize it is NOT AT ALL what we thought we were gonna get into. It is like, expecting a sweet melting chocolate morsel in your mouth and getting a shocking tounge suprise of unmelting gooey raisins. Now a raisin cookie might be really good, you may even like raisins, but it was not the sweet melting expectation. In life when these sneaky gooey raisin moments come we have a choice. How do we react when the gooey raisin sneaks up on you? Do you spit and spew or smile and chew?

Jesus said, "I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." John 16:33 (MSG)  I do not know what you have bitten into, but I know this: God is able to deliver us out of darkness, break every bondage, help find freedom or healing in harmful relationships and give us incredible peace in the midst of hard times.

If you got a mouthfulll of gooey raisins, I say, "Smile and chew!"  You are in good hands of a great God, who has great plans for you. And if you are faithful and keep following Him, good things are in store. It is not always sweet melting morsels, but in His time, in His plan, I BET YOU BITE A CHIP!

Can I get a PEZtimony?

Have you ever had one of those plastic toy candy dispensers?  You know, the ones you pop the head back and candy spews out of it's neck?                                                          

Well then, you know there comes a moment when, sometimes without warning the candy is just... GONE...  and nothing spews out.  Perhaps it is a yelling screaming crisis moment.  Perhaps your whole house is in disarray, desperetely seeking some refil to calm the chaotic moment of PEZlessness?  

PEZlessness: The crisis moment when emptiness is instantly realized and spews of nothingness is all that is spewed.

Perhaps PEZlessness is not as serious as some Creigh Z friends would make it out to be?  Maybe in silly fun, PEZlessness can be avoided with a simple pezfullness clear view window in the midst of the plastic stick?  Or a low pez indicator?  Maybe a never ending PEZsleeve?   Whatever the case for pezfullness, do not loose your head, because nothing is quite as dull and boring as a headless PEZ... this is known as dePEZitation and shoud definetly be avoided!

In our lives, sometimes without warning a new PEZlessness is displayed.  Sometimes,you come in contact with somoene who unexpectantly spews out anger or other inappropriate behavior.  You wonder?  Where did that come from?  If you could have seen the PEZlessness... or state of emptiness inside...  Like the unexpected empty PEZ, you had no way of knowing what was about to come out?  

What about you?  What do you do when life "POPs" your head back?  What spews from you?  If your life is full of good stuff like a well packed PEZ, perhaps you can spew forth good things?  But if you are empty inside or packed full of bad things the spewing can be empty, ugly and often painfull!

Chasing after emptiness or packing garbage into your "dispenser" of life will spew forth the same.  But if you fill your dispenser with the good things, and monitor you personal state of PEZlessness vs. PEZfullness, you can spew forth good things when your head is "popped".  

May you avoid dePEZitation and pursue PEZfullness always! 

Puppies, poo and you!

Dogs!  

Maybe you are a dog lover?  Perhaps a cute little dog in a sparkly sweater is something you find absolutely adorable?  Maybe the doggy day spa, doggy lounges and gourmet doggy meals is how you would pamper your precious pooch?   RICH DOGS.

Or perhaps you are a junk yard owner with a mean guard dog...    Maybe, a farmer with a hard working farm dog...   A officer with a drug sniffing K9 cop dog...   Blind with a seeing eye dog...   Rider with sled pulling dog?  WORKING DOGS.

Have you seen all the dogs in barrios (slums) of Mexico...  or even, dumpster diving stray dogs?  POOR DOGS.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes and various walks of life.  Pampered spoiled dogs, homeless alley mutts, cute little rich dogs, big mean poor dogs, hard working dogs and fat lazy dogs...  Dogs, dogs, dogs, everywhere you go, there they are... dogs.  

No matter the breed, no matter the gender, dogs are dogs.  You can dress it all up in fancy clothes, talk to it like a spoiled child, but it is still a dog.  

You're just not going to watch a long black limousine pull up beside you, with the back window rolled down and some dog sticking his head out and saying, "pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"   Dogs just are NOT that picky.  They don't care if it has Grey Poupon or any other poop on!  They dig into garbage.  They sniff piles of poo...  ughh, DOGS!  They eat garbage, throw it up and go back and lick up their own throw up... ughh, DOGS!  Don't be a dog!

As crazy as it sounds, we often find ourselves getting into our own "garbage" in life.  Acting like dogs, we often find ourselves going back again and again to the same old habits and hang-ups.  Returning again and again to smell the once-I-flung pile of poo,  poo we tried and tried to get away from.  The Bible talks about dogs going back to the vomit and compares it to our disgusting sinful nature (2 Peter 2:22)... Don't be a dog!

Dog's don't care about good fancy stuff... Jesus said, (Mt 7:6) "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to the pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear yo to pieces."  

The good news is there is something way better than Grey Poupon for you.  Jesus gave His life so we can have new life.  You do not have to keep going back to the same old piles of... stuff.  There is help for your hurts, healing for your heart ache, mending for the depth of your soul, those old habits can be broken and there is peace and freedom.  Don't be a dog!   When you feel the urge to dive into the "garbage" again... dive into His arms of love, don't be a dog!  When things get RUFF... Don't be a dog!  

Crazy old dancing doomin' dude

Today... standing on the side of the road spinning a "Judgement Day May 21, 2011" sign,  is a little old man.  Full of tremendous energy for his age, he must be thinking I only have to do this for a few more days, and then....   There is so much to be said in the "and then."  

That is Saturday!?  So much to do so little time!  If  Saturday is the day... what am I doing messing around on fb, updating status or even taking care of things?  Why shower, shave or even brush my teeth?  Why pay bills or clean house?  What am I doing just sitting around?  Is the old dude crazy for sign spinning or am I crazy for sitting here?   Quit jobs, spend all your money, run up your credit card... if Saturday is The Day, is it party time?  Perhaps we should party like rock stars for the next few days?  Or should we run to the local church and spend our final days in worship with other believers?  or

"whatchya gonna do when He comes for you...bad boys bad boys."

Then I wonder:  is there a resurection ap?  Will my "status" be auto updated?  The trumpet sounds and thousands of believers grab their smart phones... "wait a second Jesus i have to update."   Perhaps like four square, the status will be updated automatically:  "John and x-number of believers checked into Heaven."  I wonder how far into the atmosphere the cell towers will recieve updates.  Which believer will post the highest accension photo?  Who will post the accension first?  Wait.... who cares?  We are going! or Not?

The old crazy dude's sign says Saturday, but the Bible says:

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come."  (Mt 24:42)  

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour" (Mt 25:13)

Is there an updated version of Mt 24-25 that I missed?  

No one KNOWS the day....

It could be Saturday it could be today... we do NOT know.  But like this little old crazy dancing dude, I wonder how I am spending my LAST days.  Am I spending too much time, updating and upkeeping?  Should I be dancing and spinning the message that there is a God, who loves You, He gave His life for you and is preparing a place for you.   Maybe Saturday?  Maybe today?  Maybe seven hundred and twenty Saturdays from now?  Whatchya goona do?

If dancing on the side of the road like a crazy little old man is what You want me to do... then...

Lord, help me to dance, laugh or even play and in everything I do let me proclaim the message of who You are and How much you love us!

The Bafflednesses

In the halls of recovery we often quote and cling to the " The Promises."  (taken from the "Big book" Alcoholics Annonymous)  We find great hope and share this hope with others through these words: 

The Promises

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development we will be amazed before we are halfway through.  We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.  We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.  We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.  No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.  That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.

We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.  Self-seeking will slip away.  Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.  Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle the situations that use to baffle us.  We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.   

Are these extravagant promises?  We think not.  They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.  They will always materialize if we work towards them.  

I was thinking the other day what it would be like if we chose to not pursue recovery.  What if we do something opposite would we get something kind of "opposite" of ThePpromises?  So here is, life without applyiing these recovery principles, life that stays the same; I give you...

The Baffledednesses

If we are somewhat haphazard about this thing called recovery, we will be just as confused or even more so than when we began.  We will find no new freedom or happiness.  The past will continue to haunt and beat us up.  The word serenity equals “HUH?!” and there is no peace.  We will continue to plummet down the path of uselessness and self pity.  

 We will worry constantly about ourselves and care less about others.  Our attitude and outlook on life remains hopeless.  Fear and insecurity surround us.  We are overwhelmed and baffled by most situations and continue to try to do for ourselves what God WANTS TO DO FOR US!  

Is this too often true?  I am afraid so it is happening among us all to often –  when we stop seeking Him and stop moving forward in our recovery.

PLAY TIME!!!

Remember when you were a kid?  

The other day as I was driving to WORK, I saw a couple kids on their way to SCHOOL!  One on a bike, another on a skateboard.  If you remember being a kid, then you might be putting these items together.  The kid on the bike is pulling the kid on a skateboard with a short belt being used as a improvized tow rope.  The bike took the corner too sharp and skateboarder was heading straight for a steet sig!  The tow was broke off and the skateboarder widened the corner into the grass for a softer stop.  PLAYING!  On their way to school!  As a kid the moments of getting to something are filled with PLAY!  Play between classes.  Play while getting ready for bed.  Playing with your food.  Play while doing HOMEWORK.  Play Play PLAY!   That is all these kids do they are PLAYING all the time!

What happened?  Why as adults do we not play on our way to WORK?  Why is everything so SERIOUS?  Perhaps as children pursuieng adultness, we heard no- play challenges that beat the play out of us...

"Why don't you GROW UP!"  

"Quit playing around with that."

 "Stop PLAYING with your food!"  

"Act your age!"  

The playing subsides and all seriousness breaks through.  Adults we become and adultness surrounds our everything. The way to work is filled with thoughts of work and other adult stuff.  Time to eat is filled with time of eating.   Serious about everything and NO TIME to PLAY.   Side note:  (actually not a side note, cuz it is in the middle so it should be a middle note)  I know, some adults never ever grow up and may need to get serious.  These adults may need to "Grow up!" a ittle bit.   The sad truth is most of us forget to play.  We get lost in busyness, perhaps worry and even fear.  The kid in us cries out to play.  God cries out for us to give Him all our worry and fears.  Perhaps if we give Him all our worry and fears and even our busyness then we may again find tome to play.  

Take time to PLAY!!!

Catshield and dogshield wipers

You have probably heard the expression: "It is raining cats and dogs."  Perhaps a storm was dumping heavy rain at the time?  Sometimes the storms of this life come down pretty hard.  What do you do when the storm your facing is coming down hard?   What do you do when life's trial is pouring cats and dogs?

I say get yourself some heavy duty dogshield catshield wipers and put the hammer down.  Press on through the storm.  We can all be certain of one thing in this life... We will have storms.  Life is filled with uncertainties... like Forest's box of chocolates... we never know what we are going to get.  The one thing we know for certain, it is during these hard times we are defined.  Our greatest character is often developed in the midst of these "storms."  So when life let's you have it, keep on going.  In Romans chapter 5 verse 3, Paul tells us to "Rejoice in our suffering.."   He says these hard times develop perseverance, character and hope.  So in the midst of these dog and cat downpours, turn on the dogshield catshield wipers and drive through this storm!