Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween parenting...

I hate Halloween--I hate everything it stands for. I hate the position it puts me in. I hate the temptation and the sugar rush (ok, I love the sugar rush--but I'd like to be able to get into my jeans).

PJ again asked me why he couldn't go around with his friends tonight. We made that call several years ago and PJ has been content with his own "give a treat" tradition--his idea. This year, it was more about going around with friends than anything else, which makes my heart hurt. On our weekly shopping trip we talked again about making choices between honoring the high holiday of our enemy or remaining loyal to our Father and Friend and trusting Him to provide. We talked about all the lack we've never experienced and that God is faithful and trustworthy and will honor those who honor Him. It still felt hollow, I'll admit, regardless of how much I trust my Friend to provide. A fun time with friends is hard for me to turn down, regardless of the occaision.

We had been trying to make it to Awana at a neighborhood church for several weeks and this seemed like as good an opportunity as any, so I piled a pouting PJ in the car and left for church. When our pastor friend walked us in, one of the adults from PJ's school immediately recognized him and gave him a truly warm welcome. He had a great time and memorized 4 Bible verses. Not only that, they walked around all of the classes in their own candy give-away.

I don't know that PJ noticed, but he probably got more candy and connected with more people there than if he had gone out with the neighbors. It was well worth the trip.

Thanks, Lord! You came through on the promise I made my son that You would honor those who honor you. It's one thing to come through on promises to me--Coming through for my son means even more to me and to his fledgling faith. There truly are none like You.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

God winks...

This has been a month of secret winks from the Holy Spirit.

You know the scenario...It's the climax of the movie. The hero and damsel are tied up in an old warehouse with the villain about to complete his catastrophic evil-doing. Suddenly, the hero winks at the heroine as you see that he is not only free, but now has the upper hand. The day is all but saved and the obligatory fist-fight hasn't even started.

As you get to know someone intimately you begin to share little names, secret phrases or inside jokes that have meaning to you because of the history you share. The month started out on a fairly critical note, with minute failures and simple mistakes blowing up with cataclysmic impacts. The wrong printout gets used wrongly and the resulting conclusions cause everyone great embarrassment. Then we were submitting a large proposal for a multi-year contract only to find that key parts of the text were printed withoutanyspacesbetweenthewords (aaaakkk!!!)

Still, as I turned the proposal in to the jurisdiction (with a heavy heart) something surprising happened--God winked. How he winked is between us, but suffice it to say that no one else would have ever noticed, but it was as obvious to me as a neon billboard flashing in front of my nose. Then later in the process, He did it again. I had no idea what the result would be for all of our prayer and effort, but I knew with utter certainty that His Hand was in action and it would not be long before something amazing happened. Several people said things that could have discouraged me as we prepared for the face to face interviews, but I couldn't erase the impact of that secret communication. My heart rested in complete trust. In the end, we scored as high as we possibly could have and won a space in the contract--my very first interview in my entire career and my very first win.

I get the feeling that our Heavenly Father is constantly trying to communicate His boundless love and His power to intervene on our behalf. I am so grateful for the years that we have come to know each other well and that we have little secrets between us. It has been worth every minute.

He's waiting to share His secrets with you too.