Washable Tattoos

In a discussion of future tattoos with my eight year old yesterday, he told me he would get "mom" tattooed across his chest someday. Ah, the swell of pride in this mama's heart...was short-lived. This morning, he asked for some clarification: "You mean they never, ever come off? I don't think I'm going to get your name on me then."

Now, in the practical application of this, I am fine. I didn't really want to see Mom in giant Romanesque letters on my son's chest. But I was a little sad to see I had lost status with him. The conversation made me consider the way I accept Jesus into my heart and my life.

I have been a practicing Christian, following hard after Jesus, for about seven years now, even though I've been a believer for 20 years. There are days when I'm ready to tattoo His name in big letters across my head for all the world to see, and other days when I'm feeling a little less committed. Times come when I want to whine and say "But God, didn't you see..." and I feel justified in being ugly towards someone. Following Jesus means that sometimes I deny what I feel like I deserve for the sole reason that He did the same for me. He didn't hold back for me on the cross, and in return, I take up my own cross, even when it's heavy and painful and slows me down.

The world is watching to see how we carry our crosses. A few weeks ago, a certain copy-center goofed up my order three times in a row, but since it was my speaker bio sheet, I felt a certain standard of behavior was extra called for. And, in retrospect, that "goof" put the words of how God changed my life in front of someone three more times...maybe someday I will meet that person in Heaven and find that those mistakes changed the course of their life. Who knows?

Tattoos are forever, unless you get them lasered off of course, but here's the thing: we can accept Christ as Savior, ask Him into our hearts, then willingly and consciously turn our backs on Him. He cannot do the same. When He sends His spirit to us, we are His forever, even if we don't act like it. If you have distanced yourself from Him and wonder if it's too late, the answer is no. He cannot deny Himself, cannot un-tattoo you from His hands, and is waiting for you to come back. If you are reading this, it is not too late. Your tattoo and commitment may have been washable, but His never was.

"Our faith may fail, his never wanes- That's who he is, he cannot change!"

2 Timothy 2: 13 (ISV)



Faithful to Lead

Good Morning! If you hopped over from the Encouragement Cafe', welcome to my site! At the bottom of the page you will see a list of the top ten posts of all time.  If you have no idea what I am talking about because you're a regular reader, visit the Encouragement Cafe and check out my post on holy detours.

Speaking of detours, I have been home from She Speaks for three days now, and am still processing what happened there. I arrived on Thursday, with my agenda clenched tightly in my hand. Girls, I had plans for this conference which, admittedly, were loosely cloaked in the good of the Kingdom, but were mostly for the good of me. My plan was to blow everyone away with my heartfelt, skillfully presented testimony and have women clamoring for me to speak at their events. Somewhere along the way this conference became more about self-promotion than anything else. Now, if you know me, you know that I joke that I tried "humble" once but no one noticed, so I gave up. As I am painfully learning, there is a difference between being confident in the Name of the Lord, and being a glory-hound. (Insert deep sigh here.)

Because God knows what I need better than I myself know, He met me there in the circle of my limelight and filled my heart with a new desire: to sloooooow down, to enjoy my life where it is today, and to let Him tie up a few loose ends. He spoke to me through the words of many presenters, friends I've made along the way, and one on one in prayer this weekend. He showed me areas that still need healing, which took me by surprise. I missed the tsunami siren again, which you can read about here. The sign He didn't hold up, though, was a Dead End  or U-Turn sign. I am on the path I am supposed to be on, to bring hope to the lost, to introduce them to Jesus.

My book, Not Beyond Reach, was not picked up by a publisher because I do not have a large enough marketing platform; one of the editors was extremely encouraging though, telling me it is a necessary and relevant message.  It was, however, held onto by an agent. The next step is to wait until I hear from her. The fun part is that I get to keep working on my passion without the pressure of a publisher telling me how to do it. This is all between me and God right now, and I'm happy to keep it that way until He directs otherwise. I also get to keep working on a fiction book that I started last year but haven't had time to play with. My characters have been developing their story without me and I'm just trying to keep up with them.

After reading the signs this weekend, I have my orders: Slow down. Let God lead. Unclench my hand and see what He pours into it. Sunday morning, I spent some time in Deuteronomy 4. Verse 1 says to heed the directions we have been given so the Lord can lead us into the land He has prepared for us. And I'm good with that. Really good with that.

My prayer for you, as you wander around in the desert, is to look for what God has for you in your meantime.

Is God Good (Enough?)

I'm linking to my friend Shelley's post today, as she answers that question in a beautiful message of hope. I promise to write about the amazing weekend at She Speaks later in the week...still processing everything I heard from our amazing God.

Click here to read Shelley's post.