Mulligan

For those who do not golf a "mulligan" is the term used for a retake shot, usually after your first one has gone errant. It's like hitting the reset button. It's a do-over.

Okay. So I got up this morning not feeling very well. Sinus stuff starting and the cough is settling in for a drawn-out visit. The first thing on my mind was how tired I felt. Run-down. Shower - shave - dress - the entire time my mind was off thinking about

• All of the tasks I need to complete over the next few days.
• The commitments I have made that I am pressed to fulfill.
• The people I need to contact.
• The repairs that need to be made.
• The yard that needs to be mowed.
• The studying I need to do
• The...

Then my mind is defibrillated from its frantic and erratic path of non-productivity by the faint, yet familiar, sounds coming from the bedroom...

"I got 'da joey, joey, joey, joey, dow in 'na hart - where?..."

I'll take a mulligan on this hole please. Quite the contrast between how I started my day and how the kids started theirs. No wonder Jesus said

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

Thank you Lord for the blessing of this day.

Do you need a mulligan?

On the fringe...

When I was in Jamaica a few weeks ago, we ate at a cool restaurant named "The Ruins." They had a sizable waterfall that was the centerpiece of this outdoor establishment. After we ate we walked up to the top of the waterfall and I saw this...

These are some sort of hard-shelled something that fell from trees surrounding the waterfall. The peculiar thing was that these shells were in an alcove and were being grouped together by the pressure of the passing water. They were stuck on the fringe. They all came from the same source but these few had been pulled into perpetuity.

If they could just break free from the torrent of the passing water - if the water would just stop running - if they could just work together and use their collective strength - if some big stick or other debris would show up and maybe dislodge them - if one shell would just move a little to the right - then they might be freed from their hopeless situation. But, there they remain - in perpetuity.

Do you ever feel like these shells? Ever feel like you are stuck in perpetuity of a hopeless situation - trapped by the pressure of the world rushing by? Pinned down by the regret and shame of decisions you have made in your life? Maybe being blocked by someone else who is keeping you from reaching your goals? If only the water would just stop - if only someone else would come and dislodge me - if only this group surrounding me would move a little to the right - then I can be free.

"...If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin...so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-36)

We all come from the same source but our decisions can separate us from the same destination. Thanks to Jesus we are not left in a perpetual condition of uncertainty. We may find ourselves trapped by the torrent of this world, but we do not have to stay trapped. There is not only hope but certainty.

Are you abiding in the Word? Are you on the fringe of making a change?

Hand me the pliers...

I am drawn to people who embody wisdom. I want to say and do the right thing at the right time in order to "fix" a situation and I am enamored by those who seem to always have the right words or actions for any situation.

I call this the gift of "the moment."

These are people who, it would seem, bought up all of the right communication tools at Sears and even have Craftsman branded on their tongues.

I, on the other hand, feel at times like the Snap-On Tool guy who needs a particular sized socket but then finds that very one is missing from his socket holder.

So, I reach for the pliers instead and end up stripping the nut because the pliers aren't made for the job and don't grab effectively.

I want to learn from those who possess and use this gift of "the moment."

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered." Proverbs 11:25

What's in your tool box?

"It's okay, I've got you."

Trolley ride through the Rivermarket - $2.00
Watching the Peabody ducks march back upstairs - $0
Spending time with my wife and kids - Priceless

Okay, sorry I beat that dead commercial but it really was priceless. Anyway, I'm squatted down in the Peabody lobby with Jackson waiting for the Duck Master to cue the fowl. Jackson is used to ducks because he feeds them down at the lake. So we perch ourselves up front with our toes right on the edge of the red carpet - front row, reach-out-and-touch-em seats right at the bottom of their stairs. When they climb out of that fountain we can shake their hands?...feet?...wings?

I'm positioned behind Jackson with my hands on his arms - doing the whole "daddy commentator" thing. The Duck Master cues the music and let the show begin. As soon as that first duck starts down the stairs Jackson tenses up and begins backing up into my chest, pushing ever so slightly to allow a lot more distance between him and that quacker. Then the whole downy family heads right for us (or so it seems to a 2 year old). Let the pushin' and shovin' begin!

"It's okay buddy...I've got you. They won't hurt you. I'm right here with you. Daddy is bigger than those ducks and I won't let them hurt you."

I wanted him to work through his uncomfortableness (new word) so that next time he will be more relaxed. So with that he settled down just in time to see the ducks load in the elevator, give a rousing wing flap goodbye, and off they were to their little duck house on the second floor. In less than a minute it was all over. And Jackson stood there...applauding to his heart's content.

Hmmm. Got me to thinkin'...

How many times in my life am I faced with uncertainty and as I try to push back on my life God says, "It's okay...I've got you. I'm right here with you. I am bigger than this and I will protect you."

But I keep pushing away from what makes me uncomfortable. But God wants me to work through my uncomfortableness so that next time I will be better equipped to handle it. What looks menacing and dangerous and insurmountable to me is no match for the God of the universe. And He wants nothing more than to celebrate with me as I load my challenge on the elevator and send it up.

Then He will stand there...applauding to my heart's content.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.

Deuteronomy 33:27

""Be watchful..."

Okay. So I decided that today would be the day that I ventured into the Revenue Office to license the van. One week into the month...middle of the day...should be in and out, right? Yeah, I know, I know.

So, I'm already anxious because I just don't like dealing with stuff I do not fully understand (like the Revenue Office - no offense Brenda). And, this trip is not cut and dry because I sold our Civic and need to get it off of our record.

My plan goes like clockwork: I walk in - no waiting (YES!). Saunter up to the Assessor - done (SWEET!). Take a number - called before I can sit down (WHO'S THE MAN!). Lay my offering of paperwork out on the mercy seat of "Tammy". Click click of the keyboard. Shuffle shuffle of the papers. Oh, the printer is firing up! I made it! I think I made it! Screeeeeeeeeech!--Red Light!

"Mr. Ashberry, I am not finding any record of the Honda."
"Huh?"
"This car is not in my database."
"Really?"
"Let me go check with my supervisor."

[While "Tammy" made a bee-line into her supervisor's office I paused to allow random thoughts of illegality to run rampant. See, this was my first private sale. I printed paperwork from some "official" website for the bill of sale, tried to navigate my way through signing the title upon transfer, yada yada. Have I messed this whole thing up!? All I could think now was that there is a poor young guy driving around in a Honda that he purchased illegally! He's going to get pulled over and arrested! And I am the fraudulent salesman!]

"Mr. Ashberry, you said the title was in your wife's name?"
"Yes, she has had the car since BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED." (threw that emphasis in there thinking they might let me go and nab Tressa - after all, it was HER car).
"What is her maiden name?" (Oh, wait a minute...)

Click click on the keyboard again...

"Here it is."

So anyway, got to thinking about this experience while driving away and knowing there had to be a lesson here somewhere.

In all of this process, even when "Tammy" was repeatedly saying that the Honda we had been driving and had registered for years did not exist, I kept my mouth shut, my patience in check, and my integrity intact. That was good...for Tammy, for me, and for anyone who might have been watching my example.

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23

Who's watching you today?

2-Year Old Wisdom

"See 'da butterfly daddy?"
"No Jackson, that's a fly."
"No, dats a butterfly!"
"No, you know what a butterfly is. That's a fly."
"'DATS A BUTTERFLY!"

And so our conversation goes, as long as I will let it. Our son gets something stuck in his little 2-year old mind and there it becomes cemented. Most of the time these conversations are nothing more than him testing my patience...or consistency.

But other times I think he legitimately gets confused about the proper names for things. Then we can reason through (as much as is possible with a 2-year old) and come to the correct designation. I know my son and I know 2-year olds. While I don't remember being 2 years old myself I have been around a lot of 2-year olds and know their developmental process.

I wonder how God must feel sometimes with my reasoning. I mean, He has the same kind of conversation with me from time to time (not literally, of course, but through His word and to some extent through others around me).

I get something stuck in my mind - an attitude, a selfish desire, a rebellious intent - and there it becomes cemented.

God says, "That's not a good decision."
But I say, "No, it'll be okay."
Then God says, "You know what the right decision is because I have shown you through my Son and numerous other examples."
Then I become more stubborn and say, "NO, I don't want to change." And my little 2-year old comes out.

And yet, God chose to create us in His image. Praise God for that!

I am so thankful that God loves me and knows me inside out. After all, he made me.
God has not only been two years old (think about that one) but he has also been around a lot of 2-year olds and knows their developmental process.

Take a moment to read Psalm 8:1-9.

"Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me as I am reminded to trust you and your Holy Word."

Cover Up

I was thirsty. And tired. So, I needed something that would not only give me a boost but also quench my thirst. I put $1 in the machine, made my selection (Vault is the available drink of choice for these situations), and waited with great anticipation for the "ker-plunk" at the bottom of the machine.

Finally, it dropped and I pushed my hand through the maximum security door at the bottom of the machine. And you know what?

The machine dropped SPRITE! Someone put the wrong item in the wrong section!

I fully anticipated that a Vault would drop when I pushed the "Vault" button.

Shouldn't we expect the ingredients to match the label? Jesus does...

Jesus got so upset at a fig tree that was blooming (which for all intents and purposes indicates it is in fruit) because he found it to be barren of fruit. It wasn't what it professed to be. So he taught his disciples a lesson about hypocrisy and deceit. Mark 11:12-17

See, the religious leaders of Jesus' day professed to be men of God but in the end they were self-serving hypocrites.

What label are you wearing?

• Kind
  
• Patient
  
• Loving
  
• Honest
  
• Faithful
  
• Trustworthy
  

Does your label match your contents? What do people anticipate about you? Better yet, what does God expect of you?