The Pretzel

I declared last week as clean up, clean out the vehicle week. I battled the Accord the first day. It is smaller and a more logical starting point. I tackled the Suburban on day two. When I started working on it, I realized they were as different in size as a mouse and an elephant and yes, more space holds more dirt. I deposited ten minutes worth of quarters and dove into the Suburban. Sometimes there is no other way to begin. I started in the far back and worked my way up. I made sure I had on proper work clothes, nothing nice and all, and contemplated whether I might need a pair of plastic sterile gloves for an extra protective layer. I worked at a decent pace, tossed a few water bottles, chunked a football or two in the far back, and made a mental note to tell my youngest that my car is not her closet. When I found myself tucked in behind the passenger seat in the floorboard like a gymnast in the middle of a front tuck, I got stuck. No, I was not physically stuck in the floorboard, although that could happen as well. I mean I got stuck like I was totally focused on one item and I could not move on until I got it. Time was running out on my deposit, but I did not care! I was on a mission to get a waffle style pretzel that was lodged in between the passenger front seat and the console. I put down the vacuum hose all together, hard decision for a penny pincher to make, and used the seat lever to move the seat all the way up. I shimmied my hand in between the seats, wiggled my fingers, and tried with all of my might to reach the pretzel. It took a few times for me to get it. From my crouched down position and nearly entirely 100% under the front seat by this point and out of breath, I had my “ah-ha” moment of the week…hard to believe there could be a divine appointment in this circumstance I know. I could have ignored the pretzel because our Suburban was cleaner than it had been in some time, and I had come so far in my quest of cleanliness. However, I chose not to ignore it! I wanted all it, and decided from the moment I spotted it that a clean car included getting the one by one inch forgotten pretzel out. Likewise, God wants all of us. He does not want us to leave anything only partially surrendered to Him. Partial obedience robs us of peace and joy. We cannot reason our way through life by thinking that a certain amount of sin, not too much compared to last year, can just be ignored and forgotten. The Lord does not want us to give Him 99% and keep 1% hidden and tucked away. Nothing is hidden from Him. We only kid ourselves when we think that. Just like I was not satisfied with the one pretzel being left, the Lord is not satisfied with us when we hold onto, grip one part of our life and refuse to give it all to Him. So, ask yourself this week. What is tucked away out of sight, but not out of mind? What is hidden and out of view to everyone, but you know it is there and that God wants to take it from you? Get it all out this week. Give everything to Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 2:9 Paul urged the church of Corinth “For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.” That applies today. Are you obedient in everything?

Unexpected

This was a weekend full of unexpected events. Saturday morning I loaded three bags into the trunk of our car and scurried back in to get my coffee. The girls and I had a weekend of shopping, softball, and Nicolas Sparks planned. (His new movie just came out) The boys were staying home for deer season preparation round one and the Freestone County Game Association Dinner in hopes of winning another gun to add to the collection. As I poured my coffee, my youngest nearly ran me over to get to the sink because she was sick. I will leave out the details. I jerked out two bags from the trunk and threw my husband’s bag in. He made a speedy change from boots to khaki shorts and headed to the ballpark. I headed to the couch with my sick little one. This meant Nicolas Sparks was OUT because Dad was going to Dallas and that I had to take the boys to the hunting event if Blaise was well enough to go. I have learned the hard way to nearly expect a Plan B and not to sweat it. A few weeks ago when faced with a similar situation, I manipulated the day to get to do what I wanted and was miserable the entire time. I did not do that this weekend. I simply thought…OK, LORD, you have another plan for the day. There is such peace in knowing God has a plan and He knows all, sees all, and unpacking the bags is better than forcing something to happen that is not in His Will! Unexpected to us is never unexpected to God. Blaise bounced back from her aliment by mid-morning which meant she had to tag along Saturday night with us to the V.F.W. She has sent her Uncle in Dallas a lengthy list of snacks and needed items for the deer lease, but really she is just along for the ride when it comes to hunting. However, when she heard BLAISE MONICO it all changed! She stood right up and marched forward because she won a gun. I jokingly said to the men around me that she would trade the gun for some shoe money. Man, was a wrong! She was so proud of her gun. She called every important male figure in her life who was not present and announced that she won a gun! The funny part was when she tried to recite to her Dad what kind it was. It took five minutes for her to spit it out and it was a “Rosie” like a flower brand rather than a “Rossi.” Her big win was unexpected and her JOY over it was really the unexpected kicker. It made my night. I filled out my first firearm form and we headed out the door with her carrying her very first gun ALL BY HERSELF. I am learning day by day that unexpected does not need to be negative. It is okay when a well planned out plan A goes to Plan B... and it is fun! Paul wrote in Philippians 1 :6 “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Life is just a work in progress! We are all just works in progress, and I am eternally grateful that Jesus uses the unexpected in life to teach us to settle down and trust Him. There are no unexpected events to Him. He is at work in your life. Will you let Him work this week?

The OAK

It feels like Fall! The cooler temps make the men in my family think about deer season. They think about it all the time, but their brains really get going when we have our first cool snap. I accompanied them on a Ranger ride Friday and all they did was discuss what needed to be trimmed and cut to get ready for hunting and winter. We cut our own firewood so there was a running list going of dead trees that would be perfect for that. I expected at any moment for one of them to grab a legal pad and start taking notes. I did the usual, like close my eyes when we went through the dugout. When I am on these trips too with my family, I have a habit of thinking about what I could be doing at home. I have learned to “Give THANKS” as we ride around. I thank the Lord for the trees, my healthy family, my home in the country, and the fact we live in a free country where we can ride, look, and pretty much do as we please. My mental list of thanksgiving came to a halt when I heard my husband say something about a cluster of trees. There was a decent size Oak tree. My husband then pointed out two smaller Cedar trees were growing right by it and said they had to go! I am no tree expert, but according to the Monico men, the smaller cedar trees evidently were crowding the Oak tree and stealing its nutrients. They were disturbing the root system of the Oak and a few more things of that nature were listed that I missed. I knew at that point that in a strange way, but isn’t life always strange if we are honest, that my life was represented in a way by these trees. I saw myself as the OAK tree and some of the extra things in life as the Cedar trees. The start of this school year has been stressful. I have continuously used the word hard to describe it! I have not been myself. Maybe I need to get rid of some “underbrush” or the cedars in my life that are crowding in and robbing my life of peace and joy. I thought as my kids got older that I would not be as busy. (HaHa) That is the funniest thing that I ever thought! Life was a breeze when all we had to do was play in the dirt pile and think about our next meal or what time Dad would be home. A fun outing was taking the trash to the dumpster. We did that over and over again, one bag at a time, just to get out of the house. Life is more complicated now. I will not bore anyone with a list of what needs to go in my life, what the cedar trees might be for me. That is something I am going to have to pray about. After I pray, then I will have to be obedient because it may be good stuff that has to go. Likewise, It could seem strange to an observer when the Monico men cut down the perfectly two good cedar trees next to the Oak. The Cedar trees are good, but not as good as the Oak. It may seem strange to observers when I or anyone else gets rid of some good stuff in their life to do the Lord’s Will. That is why we must obey the Lord and not others! Deuteronomy 30:19 says “Choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.” I am memorizing this verse this week, praying I can live by it, and do some necessary pruning. Join me!