False Start... on the offense.... 5 yard penalty, repeat first down

What do you want to bet that the first people to read this are the men who so bravely are willing to read a woman's blog?  Of course..."build the football analogy and they will come."  (Movie line from: Field of Dreams, just in case you didn't see it.)  Guess you can figure out the framework for this entry and where we are headed?  Sports.  I know, I know...to all the ladies that just kicked off their Pradas and skinny jeans.. go ahead and change into your Lululemon pants and Nike cross-trainers, we're got to get our rally hats on for this one because this is REALLY IMPORTANT before you spend one more day in this holiday season!

Yep.  God knew what he was doing... he gave me 3 wonderful, busy, crazy, football lovin' boys.  I mean...they LOVE football.  I prophesy that one will be a sports commentator, one will be a team chaplain and the last...well, its too early to call that one.  But since I love college football myself, I thought the penalty analogy was only fitting for the way I think most of us have started the holiday season.  We started before the whistle blew.  It's a "false start" and we need to repeat the down.  Read on....

I might have said this before but I think its worth repeating.  There is nothing... NOTHING we can do to earn more of God's love.  Nada.  He loved us so much that he created the earth so we could live on it.  He made us in his own image!  And, because he realized that no matter how many times he tried to save us...we don't do so well with following rules.  Eve... apples... 10 commandments... yep, we blew it.  So, once and for all he did the unthinkable as a parent... he sacraficed his only Son so that once and for all, a new convenant could be made between Himself and us.  For all who believe in His Son, it is God's free gift to us; being made right with Him even though we did nothing to deserve it. 

Now... no amount of brown-nosing, good deeds, buy-off's or good samaritan acts are going to make God love you more.  Your performance does not change your position as far as God is concerned.  Backwards from the rest of the world, I know... but most things are when it comes to God.  That is what might make it so hard; we are socially and emotionally programmed to tie performance to position and even, dare I say... self worth.  At work, the better your performance, the higher your position over time (and for stay at home moms...this promotion ladder could take decades!)  Just about anywhere in the world, the better we perform, the better we feel about ourselves and the better the world sees us.

But think about it.  Think about the Holiday season that is in full swing.  How do you view it?  Is it a race?  Is it a week after week "keeping up with the Jonses?"  Are you to the point that your holiday statement looks something like this?

If any of this resonates with you... let me give you some practical advice.  Knock it off!  Stop it.  False start... on the offense... NO PENALTY... repeat first down.  God loves you just as you are.  He doesn't care if your door wreath came from Michael's craft store, the overpriced Nursery down the long country road or if you didn't ever get around to hanging the wreath up.  He isn't giving bigger houses in Heaven to the family's who made the best chocolate krinkle cookies.  And, hold your holy horses, because he also is not going to love you more than your neighbor if you spent the entire month serving soup in a homeless shelter.  (But you will glorify God to the masses, so don't cancel your holiday serving plans!)

What I am trying to say is that the only one putting pressure on yourself this holiday is you.  Tis the season to glorify God and his ultimate sacrafice... the rest... well, we pile that on ourselves.  I'm certainly not judging anyone for taking time to make their home beautiful, bake delicious cookies or even shop for presents.  God gave you gifts and talents and made each one of us unique... I know for one friend that a beautiful home brings her joy and you know what, she does it effortlessly because its the way God designed her.  For others, the holidays aren't complete if they haven't hosted a party that benefitted a charity in need. 

I hope that for those who read this, you'll simply step back and before you repeat the down... take a look at your play book.  In your 1-man offensive stategy, what's your goal?  (You knew I had to bring it back to football!)  What's your "reason behind the season?"  And if you started off this season with a "false start," don't be so hard on yourself.  Just get back in the huddle, reset, and start the play over again.  I have a feeling the rest of the holiday season will be a victory.

Are you gas, hybrid or electric?

If you were quick to catch my last post entitled "my you look bushy" then first and foremost...thank you for being loyal readers.  Because I ended up pulling the post after 6 hours; I wanted it to bake a little longer before coming out of the oven.  That, and I had friends offering to come over and help me with yard work which further proves my point that my thoughts weren't translating onto the screen all that well.

Now that I have had a few days to let my thoughts soak, I'm ready to roll.  In my last post talking about stopping to just "rest and pause for some moments" I ended with, "When we stop, He starts... and its always better." Well, when we stop, rest, and abide, we are able to make some of our best changes... our best growth... produce our BEST results.  Think about it... don't beauty commercials tell us that our cells regenerate at night?  Isn't sleep supposed (massive parenthood disclaimer) to be restorative?  So when we abide (translate: rest, remain...stay....) with the one who created us, then we are able to make some of our best changes.  Why? 

Because in John 15:1; (uh, that would be the Bible, but not to worry if some of you thought it was a street address... no judging here on this end!) John 15:1 says that we are just a branch... Jesus is the Vine and God is our Vinedresser.  So as a branch we have to stay connected to the vine in order to regenerate, change, grow.  You cannot do it without being connected to the vine.  In fact, a branch that has become broken off from its vine/trunk slowly starts to wither and die. 

If you are like many friends I have, you will also admit that if you were called a greenthumb, its because it has gangrine, not because you are a good gardener.  So let me give you a different analogy to chew on. 
I'm no car buff but as best as I know, there are 3 car options out there on the mass market.

• Gas
• Hybrid
• Electric

Now that I am back in Seattle, I see a lot of all three types; and quite frankly, I'm not surprised since I know I am hanging out at the gas station about twice as much as when I was in Chicago.  My middle son is always in a panic when he sees the gas light on in my car because he knows what will happen when I ignore it... we will flat out run out of gas.  It's one of the limitations of a gas-fueled car; you will always be tied to a limitation of miles before you have to find a gas station.  It's these hybrid/electric cars I get a kick out of.  You simply return home and "plug back in!"

I bet someone at this point is thinking, "Bushes.  Cars.  For the love of the Lord, Erin, focus!!!"

Ready?  What do the Hybrid/Electric cars have in common with the branch?  They are constructed to require connection to a power source.  The branch is connected to the vine that continually supplies energy, nourishment and all that is needed for it to maintain life within it.  A car that "plugs into an energy source" is of course recharged and ready to go back out into the world.  The gas car...however.... does not get recharged.  Instead, it fills up on something that burns off and eventually, runs out.  Without getting back in time for more gas... it stops working all together.  (And then you're dialing AAA or spouse to come fetch you some gas by the roadside.)

I'm reading back over this and I have to admit, you're brave to have gone this far but here's what I want you to sit and ponder when you're done.  What are YOU plugging into?  What are YOU feeding your soul with?  Because whatever you put in there...chances are, if its not the vinedresser (John 15:1 again) then its expendible, temporary and WILL run out.  Consider the source of the branch's energy and nourishment... it doesn't have to do much... it just has to rest and stay connected to the vine.  The hyrid or electric car doesn't have to do anything in the garage at night... it just has to get plugged in. 

I guarantee you 10 minutes of abiding, whether it be jamming out to some Worship music, being still and knowing He alone is who loved you and created you or even cracking open your bible (hey, try John 15:1) will rejuvinate your engine more than anything else you can spend 10 minutes doing. 

You want me to do WHAT?

Last week had the potential to be one of the most "peek a boo" looks into this season in life.  You see, my husband was home for the first of two full weeks without any airplane travel; Perhaps the longest stint without stepping foot inside an airport (excluding holidays) since I can remember... certainly the UW Huskies were a reputable football team the last time we went this long.  (Okay, maybe a stretch, but you get my point.)  Now that we are rounding out the 2nd week of him being home each evening, I have really come to learn some things about myself...and I believe all of us can relate.

1.  Man, we run hard.  I have slept a minimum of 8 hours every night that he has been home.  I think your body just gets used to a certain amount of adrenalin and learns to perform at that rate.  So when I knew my "1 on 3" power play was going to get a break... my body claimed the rights to some much needed rest.  And we're not just talking sleep... I mean I'm a heap on the couch right after all the kids are tucked in at 8:30pm!  That's saying something; when my husband travels its just me from the time the first child wakes up to the last one is tucked in...AND THEN there are dishes, laundry, an email response required...and so on.  Having him in town has definitely shed light on how long we go on fumes...and our body doesn't even put the low fuel light on until we're 80 miles past the last gas station!

2.  We feel guilty when we're not running hard.  Is it just me or does that strike you as "messed up?"  I mean, if we're not accomplishing, pursuing, conquering, solving or creating, the tendency is to make some judgments about how we are using our time and quite frankly the words "wasting," and "lazy" come to mind.  I cringe when I think about my old perception of a stay at home mom...until I became one.  "Watching Oprah eating Bon Bons and oh yes, doing crafts all day long w/ their children."  For the record, my kids think craft time is the BEST THING EVER because we have it roughly twice a year.  Why?  I'm too stinkin' busy accomplishing, purusing, conquering and all that stuff!  Always an email that needs responding.  Always grocery shopping, always laundry, an unreturned phone call, an unsigned permission slip clamoring for our attention.  Did I donate to my school's foundation, have I purchased socially conscious Halloween candy this year, gotten the stain out of my son's Halloween costume, rescheduled my son's dentist appointment or reviewed our next year's medical benefits before open enrollment closes?  Did I?  DID I????  And what if I don't? 

Life goes on... we just might lose some friends on FB, kids will get hungry, run out of clothes and miss their field trip.  The foundation will hound us via phone, I will get dirty looks for passing out "thug" Halloween candy, and we will have no medical insurance.

So imagine how attractive, yet utterly impossible it seemed...when my Pastor suggested that we stop "doing" and simply fully surrender and rest; so that we may allow God to do the work in us he promises.  It just sounds backwards, right?  We stop, so God can work in US.  My "Type A" brain simply cannot process. 

I cannot process because by nature, I am a "doer;" just cannot sit still for long.  Sound like an echo?  Do people say that of you?  (I have a feeling I am hitting a nerve for so many... I think I am going to be talking quite a bit about this...)

Slowing down.  I'm not talking about "going for a walk in the forest because God is in the trees."  No he's not.  You can head out there to get some fresh air, some clarity...but the "stop doing" I am talking about is learning how to abide in your Creator...the one who lovingly made you from start to finish and knows the depths of who you are.

So my short challenge for you today is to stop doing.  Try it for 10 minutes.  Not an email, FB check... no texting... just get with Him.  Some sit still....  some pray.... some journal...some worship...just try it.  I found 10 minutes to be really hard when I just sat still...so for me, worship was the only way to do it.  And after 12 minutes passing like the blink of an eye... you're reading what came out of it. 

You stop.  He starts...and the work is always better when He's in charge.