Category Archives: Dirty Little…

SOAP: Gimme That. Please.

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

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myownScripture:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7

Observation: This one is pretty clear cut, Jesus says that if you take the first step in action by asking, seeking, knocking, we will receive results.

Application: This scripture is about such a dangerous process if you’re a proud idiot like me. Praying that God would secure me for whatever tragedy comes next just a week or two before a friend dies. Seeking and praying for a job and finding one that helps make ends meet but isn’t something I’m necessarily passionate about. Asking Him to make it clear if someone should be in my life or take them out of it, then forgetting how many times I prayed that and being really upset when they are removed from my life. And when I remember that I asked for it what I want to do is throw an infantile fit, but what I have to do is thank God for mercifully answering prayers.

But when I find myself in times of hardship I don’t think first of asking God for help. There are things that I need to start asking for that I’ve been considering too small for God to care about, which is not true. I’ve cycled back into a place of believing that He’s too busy, that I am too small.

Prayer: God, you have already told me that I am not too small of a concern. You have said in Your word that each one of us was created by Your own hands, and You sent Your son to die for our sins before someone like me was even born. I know that You care for me, but I have been thinking that it only goes so far. I’m sorry for doubting that You care about each moment of my life, and I pray You’ll renew my heart on this matter. I can’t just remember on my own, so I’ll take whatever reminders You want to send me. And thanks for how You’ve already proven Yourself so greatly, in such big and wonderful ways. Thank You for giving me the times You’ve provided to remember in times like these, so that I can see the proof of who You are. dirty

For What It’s Worth

16 Monday Sep 2013

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schmidtdroppingwisdom
Let’s talk about gold for a minute.
Gold is not very useful. It’s soft, so soft that in the old days pirates would bite coins to make sure they were gold. You can’t exactly make a sword with it and expect it to cut somebody. I’m 65% convinced that the person’s body heat would make the sword bend around their body.
It’s not good for building houses unless you want to slowly sink into the foundation. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 3 we are told expressly that building a foundation using things like straw, hay, wood, precious stones, or GOLD will lead to some very unhappy homeowners.
I’ve heard the saying “…where the streets are paved with gold” before and recently realized that no one should ever go to that place. For one, what kind of people are in charge of that place? Are they using gold bricks as a road? How could they think that’s a good idea? Also, it will become so soft that everyone will leave foot prints, much less tire marks. Who is paying for all of that gold being replaced when it becomes so dirty and indented that there is no longer a street? It’s a stupid idea.
The gold used in jewelry is mixed with other, stronger metals. If you had even a 85% gold ring it would bend all over your finger and probably break right off. It doesn’t make sense that such a pliable metal is sold for so much money. Why is it so expensive?
Because we decided it was. Back in the day, someone found a rare rock that was yellow and shiny and decided to hold on to it at any cost. They thought it was beautiful. They kept it.
Now let’s talk about God.
He made man to be something that reflected everything that He is, and man went ahead and became something … well, broken. Because of sin there isn’t really a good use for us either. We are horrible reflections of God on a regular basis. We are useless in our own ways, instead of showing the world God’s love and promises we are hateful, deceitful, selfish.
But because God is crafty (hello, the Creator of all) He puts value on us. He found us to be so valuable that His son died for our lives. Through Christ we are worth far more than what we should be valued at. We are able to become new creations. We are no longer broken creations. When we are in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We become God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
Basically, if we are to God what gold is to us we can be secure in what He has done and no longer need to find our worth elsewhere. We don’t have to impress anyone, or be the best at our work, or need other people to love us. We can rest, assured that we know how much we’re worth to God.
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New Feature: SOAP

31 Saturday Aug 2013

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tumblr_lxki98qL9V1qipw3rI’ve decided to add a new feature up in here! I heard about this concept over a year ago I think, and it’s sort of stuck with me as a way I could structure posts. SOAP stands for scripture, observation, application, and prayer.  It’s a way of taking time to really think about what God is trying to tell us through His word.  I think that could be pretty self explanatory, but just in case it isn’t I’ll walk you through it. Now on to today’s scripture:

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  (1 Timothy 1:5)

Observation: If you can’t remember what the point is of being a christian on a day to day basis, this is a great summary to remind you.  We have been charged with a responsibility, and even thought we are human and will never be perfect it is our aim to be able to have good motives and genuinely confident belief in the truth of who Christ is and what He has and will do for us.  It also means to be able to love people from a pure heart, which is impossible without knowing Christ.

Application:  It’s hard to remember what Christ has asked me to do.  It’s harder still to live out His requests without taking the time daily to give Him dominion over my heart.  I could tell you the gist of the great commission, but in my day to day life I forget what my motivation should be all the time.  For me applying this scripture means to read it and remember that I have been called to act from a heart that seeks to be fulfilled in the Lord and submitted to His will, instead of from a place of selfish desire.

Prayer:  God, I wish I could give you some excuses for my behavior and the condition of my heart, but we both know it’s not worth the effort.  I’m sorry for being lazy and petulant.  I have let myself get in the way of who You want me to be, and I want to change but I can’t… not unless You change me.  Please renew my heart so that it can be more like Yours.  Let my actions show the world what You want the world to see, instead of whatever images I could possibly want to portray myself as.  Thanks for being stronger than my will, and willing to put up with my human nature.  Thanks for giving me a life that You designed specifically for me, and designed me for.  You’re the best.  dirty

Best of the Best

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

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sharingiscaringRelationships are difficult.  They require so much work, not just when they begin, but through out their entire existence if you want them to thrive.  You only seem to get back what you put into them, which can be a really hard thing for people to understand.  Sometimes people put in too much, sometimes they put in too little.  Sometimes they take all of the benefits, and sometimes they don’t want anything to do with them.  It’s incredibly difficult to figure out where the balance is for the give and take.
I am incredibly thankful for the relationships in my life where I don’t have to spend a lot of time computing what amount of effort I should be putting into a relationship.  I have 3 relationships currently that have their own sort of balance, and they make life so much easier for me.

1.  My BFF, best friend forever, my Fab Twin, the Trixy to my Vixy, the Blair to my Serena… depending on the day, we switch these rolls.  She and I are not always balanced with our efforts on the day to day, but all of the imbalances on the small scale balance out on the big one.  We both give, we both take, and we both enjoy the rewards of our efforts.
2.  I have the perfect balance with Netflix.  I give them $8 a month and they give me the inability to have a social life.  It’s a model I would love to see replicated in many more of my relationships.
3.  Christ doesn’t ask me for much more than my entire life, and in return gives me eternal life with Him.  It’s actually incredibly imbalanced, because the efforts I have to put in to it are nothing compared to what He has already done for me.

Does anyone else find balance in relationships difficult?  Are there some relationships that are just easier to balance?

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Same Old, Sort Of.

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

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DANCE

I just made a chicken salad with bacon toasted cheese sandwich, which I am choosing to enjoy with whiskey on ice. When I got home from work I decided to do part of a yoga DVD and an entire Dancercize DVD.

On a side note, Dancercize is excellent because you feel like a complete idiot and you can’t understand what the instructor is doing. Then about halfway through you sort of figure it out and begin to feel like Jessica Alba in Honey, start putting your own little spin on it, then you realize you can’t see what they are doing because sweat is pouring down your face. You end up feeling tired, and a little bit awesome because you just did that entire DVD, even if it was barely 30 minutes.

Tonight I am celebrating. I am celebrating the changes that are happening in my life, not necessarily the changes that life is bringing me, but the changes that are happening from the inside out. I have made a decision to pursue a goal that requires me to get my act together. Thankfully it is one that will require preparation and prayer and really getting back into the Word, and that is only something that I will be able to do by asking for God to help me do it. It would seem that I completely forget that if I ask Him to help me He will. For some reason I think that I need to get myself back on track, and forget that without the H. Sizzle I am completely useless. I need God to change me from the inside out (again. Ugh.). And I am willing to be submissive, so I’ve decided to start asking on a regular basis. I might turn into The Worst, constantly praying and needing and whatnot, but I have a feeling that my version of The Worst is very different from His.

Speaking of changes from the inside out, today I found my first white hair. Not gray, white. Like, blinding white, all the way to the root. Obviously 26 has a lot of great things in store for me. Changes await, and I am not even scared!dirty