You reach for the door handle and it breaks. In that first instant you may think you’re stuck in your car with no way out. Of course, you realize quickly that you can roll down the window and open the door from the outside, or even slide over and exit on the passenger side. Either way, you do have an escape route.

When this happened today, it started me thinking or, rather, remembering. Waaaaay back in the olden days, before cordless phones and caller ID, when the phone rang so seldom that you always went running to catch it, my boyfriend and I were alone in the house and got a little carried away.

But EVERY time we went too far in the wrong direction, the phone rang, and EVERY time it rang the person on the other end hung up as soon as I answered. After the fourth or fifth time, we realized we were in danger of being late somewhere and I had the sense to insist on us rushing to get ready to leave.

It was some time after this that I discovered 1 Corinthians 10:13.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (NKJV)

What happened that day was clearly God making a way of escape for me, and it is a lesson I have never forgotten. If I give in to temptation, it’s because I ignore the escape routes He has opened for me.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

“Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn His anger away from them.” Proverbs 24:17-18 NLT

If you’ve never hung clean laundry out to air dry in the sun, you’ve missed a unique satisfaction. As a kid, few things were as pleasant as the smell of clothing and sheets that had just come down from the line. Everything was crisp and obviously clean and fresh. I loved it.

With this in mind, I can’t currently think of anything less satisfying that air drying, or airing, dirty laundry. First, I’d never want the neighbors to see me doing anything so foolish. Second, WHY?! Pulling it off that line would give something far from the satisfaction I got from pulling clean laundry, and even as I took it down I would know my work had just doubled or worse: Dirty laundry that has been aired is even harder to get clean because all the dirt, soil, and stains are baked in.

The same holds true on social media. It seems to me that airing our dirty laundry has become the order of the day, and I find it appalling on many levels. It flat out makes the person doing the talking look foolish and wrong, especially if later on it turns out the facts weren’t quite as they thought. Even worse, though, it can completely destroy relationships that could have been saved if the parties had come together instead of one or both airing their problems in public. And for the Christian? Frankly, it’s dangerous.

God’s Word presents the concepts of love and forgiveness repeatedly, and love in particular is something I think we truly don’t understand. One line that took me years to comprehend is, “Love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

The full verse is this: “And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’”

Who is He talking to here?

Christians.

What is He saying?

Our brothers and sisters in Christ WILL sin. They WILL do us wrong. They WILL make mistakes. They ARE NOT PERFECT no matter how much anyone thinks they should be. (The absurd belief that Christians should be perfect is fodder for another post!)

What else is He saying?

It is our responsibility to LOVE ANYWAY. It’s our responsibilty to cover their mistakes and, yes, even their sins, with love.

Example: When, as a young wife, I felt my husband had done me wrong, I did NOT go running to my mother to tell her all about it. I chose not to because I knew he loved me and I didn’t want to say something to her that would ruin his reputation where she was concerned. Instead, I took our issues to God and we dealt with things privately.

God IS love, and He expects us to work on becoming more like Him all the time. He doesn’t just ask us to love one another; He commands it. As Christians, when we’ve got a load of dirty laundry, we are responsible for making the right decision on how to handle it. Tossing it out to bake in the light of public opinion pretty much guarantees it will never be cleaned and the damage will become permanent. It is the exact opposite of what Scripture commands, and it makes us look bad as individuals and reflects poorly on the community we live in, the church.

Let’s trying cleaning it instead.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

This has been my view several times a week for months. MONTHS! At first I thought they were allowing time for the concrete at the other end of the road to cure, then I thought they were waiting on the lights to be installed, then…

It’s been like this – just like this – for…again, I say…months. It’s paved. It’s striped. It’s got lights ready and waiting at the other end. Only God knows why this road is still closed. It’s that way in life, too. How many times have I been at a crossroads, looking at a path that was obviously ready to be traveled except for one thing – God’s great big “Road Closed” sign?Why? What reason could He have for keeping me away from that particular path? Only He knows, in truth, but I’ve learned to trust that He inevitably has a better plan in mind, a better road for me to follow. If He wants a road to stay closed, so do I. (I’m still not sure about what the city or whoever is doing here, though.)Celebrating Jesus!Tammy C

I don’t know much about palms, so when I saw how hard this one had been hit by a freeze I was concerned. A friend assured me that sago palms are hard to kill, and it would be fine. Sure enough, I noticed this past week that all this new growth had burst forth seemingly overnight.

Children of God are much like this. We’ll be hit with bad weather, and even hard freezes. There will be times in our lives when someone looking on from the outside might think we are done for, ready to be dug up and tossed. The Master Gardener knows better. He nurtures us and, sooner or later, we’ll have a burst of new life. We’re hard to kill.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

A young man I know was raised to believe a true gentleman opens the door for his wife. We laugh at times, when she is about to walk through a door with him near and we hear, “Wait,” but though I chuckle on occasion I find it precious and appreciate it as a woman.

Today in prayer, God told me to pay attention to them, that I can learn from them. I’ve been praying about a specific thing, you see, and today He told me it’s right outside the door. “When do I walk through the door?” I asked.

“When I open it for you,” He answered. “Wait for me, because you are my bride and I am a true gentleman.”

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

There’s nothing like going public to keep you aware of what you need to be doing. Right?

Until this week, i have done nothing – no exercise – since the 5K. Honestly, i really hadn’t been doing much before, either. That has GOT to change.

I have two motivators.

Jack. I love my husband, and it’s a good thing i do because we’ve had a rough eight years and every one of the medical problems we’ve dealt with has been a direct result of his refusal to take care of himself. I don’t want anyone having to take care of me like I’ve had to care for him. Developing plantar fasciitis because you’re having to transfer a wheelchair-bound man? Seriously not cool. Thank God he’s doing so very much better; it’s taken WORK. Again, i don’t want anyone to have to work like this for me, especially not as a result of my own thoughtless actions.

God. He’s been on me a lot lately about stewardship. In the Word, my body is referred to as the Temple of the Holy Ghost. I’ve heard that verse quoted myriad times over the years, so many times it almost sounds cliche. But here’s reality. It’s true. God entrusted me with this body and He expects me to take good care of it. I haven’t been.

Starting now, i am going to do better.

My current goals are small, but I’ve learned that small beginnings are the ones you’re most likely to make. Here’s to walking into a healthy future.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C