The steel wool affect

I want to be Steel Wool

    Have you ever felt like a weakling or a failure when it comes to communication or confrontation?

I have to admit that I am somewhat of a softy and I have to fight the urge to tuck my tail and run in the opposite direction when I must face opposition.  I have a friend who told me once that I was like a cotton ball; she has even called me cotton a few times. I know that what she was saying about me was not meant to be negative but there is the feeling of inadequacy that comes with being a cotton ball.        When you are soft as cotton, people tend  to not take you serious, you end up doing things you really don't want to and people walk all over you. When you are soft as cotton people also feel like they have to "tippy toe" around you so they don't  hurt your feelings, I hate that!
    On the other hand being known as harsh and unapproachable has its drawbacks too. I would hate to be the one that makes people duck into empty rooms when they see me coming, I have no desire to cause people to feel like they must always be on their guard with me.
    Somewhere in the middle is the answer, Somewhere between cotton and metal scraper is the perfect mix of strength and gentleness, grit and compassion. Somewhere between cotton and metal scraper is the steel wool pad, soft yet strong.

When we read Colossians 3 the instructions are clear; clothe yourself in compassion, kindness, humility and patience. We have to choose to put these on, most times it does not come natural. It takes a little compassion and patience to “bear with” someone, and kindness and humility is definitely involved when it comes to forgiveness.
   I decided I would rather be compared to steel wool; it’s soft yet durable, it’s gentle yet scrubs away the toughest baked on gunk and leaves the pan shining, it’s great at gently sanding away little wood burs and you are left with a beautiful smooth surface.

   Endeavoring to see people as Jesus does really helps. Jesus is always kind and gentle, he always shows us compassion and patience and I am so thankful for that. Using these verses in Colossians as a guide to communication and interaction with others is more than just a good idea, its a template for successful relationships and change.

Colossians 3:12, 13, 17

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Pepperspray Expectations

    Expectations and disappointments

   Caution: "May have no affect on those under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

These were the words written in bold print on the instructions of my new pepper spray gun. Wait a minute, weren't these the kind of people that I was protecting myself against? I almost expected the next lines to read, " This device is sold  for the sole purpose of making you feel better and may be affective on affectionate dogs or the occasional fellow walker." 

   Boy was I disappointed! I had hoped when I bought this device that it would empower me to leave  vicious perpetrators, human or animal, incapacitated long enough for this slow runner to make a hasty retreat. 

     We are met with multiple disappointments every day. Whether it was a plan that fell through or someone didn't do what they said they would, when our expectations aren't met we can feel frustrated and lose faith in our values and people.

   

   2 Timothy 3:10,11 " You however know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith,patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings- what kind of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. yet the Lord rescued me from all of them." 

   I wonder if Paul's plan for his life included  lengthy stays at the local prison? I'm sure that during all his schooling and training; preaching to Gentiles, being beaten and thrown in prison was not on his list of things to do. I imagine there were times Paul was disappointed in the outcome of circumstances or the actions of people around him.
Through it all he was able to minister to thousands and bring the love of God and the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles.
 What was Paul's secret? Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do everything through him who gives me the strength."
    In the margin of my Bible I wrote, " Attitude determines altitude." Disappointment is part of life, how we deal with it can be a  sign of maturity and character. I believe Paul's decision to allow God to work in him and others made him approachable and successful in all he did.
 
   Are you wondering what I did with my pepper spray gun? I decided to keep it. It does make me feel  little more confident when I walk alone and it just happens to be one of my favorite colors, cobalt blue.

   

Some people leave a bigger whole when gone.

A True "Man of Steel (wool)"

   Have you ever known someone that will forever bring a smile to your face when you think of them? That person for me was my dear friend Dick. He was not a man of few words, in fact he was like a walking Thesaurus  and I would often walk away, scratching my head, knowing I would have to look a few of those words up. 

   Like steel wool, he was an ideal mixture of strength and gentle compassion. Family, common sense and hard work defined  his life but he was as soft as cotton when it came to helping others.  When I remember my friend, it will be for his no nonsense approach to life, his love of  fun and his booming laugh, his deep compassion and generosity for others, and his unwavering commitment to his family and God. We all love you Dick and your absence will be greatly felt "perpetually, interminably, infinitely, enduringly, unchangingly, for good, for keeps, for always and till hell freezes over (hey it was in the thesaurus)."

This is one of my favorites

Trouble can be like spider webs...

Mouth Full of Spiders

There is nothing like a spider to get me moving and make me look like a crazy woman spinning out of control. I know they have a purpose in this world but I want nothing to do with them. I've had a few undesirable run-ins with those horrible hairy creatures over the years and would prefer they keep their distance.

 I once had one flicked at me by someone who thought they were being funny only to discover minutes later that it went right into my mouth! Spiders taste horrible by the way. I also had one run from the front of my bathrobe straight into my mouth! I felt the hair of his creepy little legs on my tongue and I quickly spit him across the room. I breathed one up my nose when I was at work and he bit me that was embarrassing to say the least. My nose and eyes watered so much that my mascara made me look like someone from an eighties Goth band. I have done the “spider web dance” a number of times. You know, screaming, twirling, arms flailing till you think it’s all gone only to find the spider in your hair minutes later. It’s just embarrassing.

Spiders are like those annoying trials that come into our lives. We are just living life, minding our own business and –Bam- suddenly we've walked into a web of troubles.

We all endure temptations and trials. There are no lucky ones that get to live life carefree or without struggles. Even Jesus had troubles but knew his Father was with him.

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 Thankfully, we can have peace even in the midst of great trials. We can rest and be assured that God will not let you be tempted too much and promises a way to escape. Sometimes things don’t happen the way we want them to. The situation may feel all consuming but God is faithful and loving and he always provides a way of escape.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,  “You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and He will show you how to escape from your temptations.”

You are never too lost to get back on track.

Walking in the right direction

      Distractions are just a part of life, keeping focused on the right path is not always as easy as it seems.

The first time my son borrowed my car he had his whole trip planned out except the directions. When he went to his dad for those directions I knew it was not going to end well. My husband is a very detailed person, Doug is not. I watched as half way through the conversation, Doug’s eyes glazed over and the distant look of a coma fell on his face.

Doug and I share the same outlook on life; it’s called KISS or Keep It Simple Silly. I once asked my husband for directions to a nearby city and his reply started with, “Have you ever noticed the plume of smoke in the north westerly direction?” I had to stop him in mid-sentence, “Wait, who do you think I am, Geronimo?” I asked. I’m not even sure which way North West is and he wants me to notice a plume of smoke? Who talks like that anyway?

 Doug left the house scratching his head and about an hour and a half later we got the phone call, he was lost. Not only was he lost but he was in an entirely different state. I took over the phone and told him to turn on the GPS. You can’t get any simpler than that. Later I asked him why he didn’t use the GPS in the first place and he said he turned it off because he didn’t think he needed it. 

 It is so easy in life to get off track and get out of God’s will. God has given us His own GPS, it is His word, and it’s simple and straight forward.

Psalm 119:105 and 133 says, “Direct my footsteps according to your word, let no sin rule over me.” And “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

I thank God for his love, mercy and grace. He is always there to get me back on track. I later asked my son where he thought he went wrong, he said it was when he stopped listening to the instructions and turned off the GPS. Hmmm, that is a great lesson to remember.

 Proverbs 16:3, 9

  Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

 

A little bit of spit.

Just don’t touch

Have you ever felt like you just can’t stay out of trouble? Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try to do right, somehow you always end up in failure?

   1 Thessalonians 5:22 says:

Avoid every kind of evil.

That’s not always easy to do in this crazy mixed up, whirlwind of a world that we live in.

 My best friend and I took a trip to the beach one summer. We decided to go through the local museum of weird facts. We had just started walking through when we came to the display of “The Queen’s Jewels.” It was a table made of mirrors with some overhead lighting that made it look like shimmering diamonds.  We both could clearly see that something was not right, but instead of just walking on, my friend ran her fingers across the top of the mirror, asking at the same time, “what’s that?” We soon discovered someone had spit in the middle of that mirror. We were mortified! Immediately we were running for the bathroom gagging and screaming the whole way.  Sadly this is not the first time my friend has gotten into trouble because curiosity got the best of her. She also got the surprise of her life when she touched the strange little puddle of yuck in a frying pan at the store, same run, same gag reflex. I tease her by asking why she has to touch everything; you would think she would have it figured out after the first time.

Even Paul confesses in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Paul knew that no matter how hard we try; sometimes we end up doing what we hate. Thank God there is hope and we are made righteous through faith and the blood of Jesus and not by our actions.

Romans 3:22-24 says, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Sometimes we mess up, sometimes we make mistakes and we stick our fingers where they don’t belong only to find spit in the middle of the mirrors! We all do it, God is not surprised and his love never changes toward us.

As we grow we don’t make the same mistakes too often, but when we do just remember there is nothing that separates us from his love and we are more than conquerors through him. (Romans 8:35-39)

My BFF and partner in crime. Ethel and Lucy, Lavern and Shirley all rolled up together.

As far as the east is from the west

If I Had a Hammer

Have you ever done something you were ashamed of? Something you wish you could forget or never did in the first place? Well, congratulations, you are a part of the world wide club of “Everyone That Ever Existed.” Of course knowing this doesn't make me feel any better, I would prefer to be the one who handles every situation with grace and perfection.

    One of the strongest weapons the enemy uses against us is guilt and condemnation. This relentless duo keeps us feeling ashamed and defeated, resulting in a failure to recognize God’s grace, love and forgiveness.

   The devil knows exactly what buttons to push; he is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). All he has to do is drop one single thought in my head or bring up a memory I have worked very hard to get rid of and -Bam! - I have become my own worst enemy. I guess you could say I am my own personal bully.

    I have a friend who explains it like this, “The Devil has a hammer and he beats us over the head with it, but we come along and take that hammer from him and beat our self over the head doing a much better job than he did in the first place.”

   I have to remember that God loves me and is not shocked by what I do; He knew exactly what He was getting when he sent His Son to die for my salvation.

   Memorizing scripture and putting it into practice has become one of my most successful defenses. Revelation 12:10 and 11 tells us the accuser of the brethren has been cast down and we over come him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

     Realizing the devil is a liar and refusing to help him in our own destruction gives us hope and courage. We need to realize how precious and cherished we are to our Heavenly Father.

     We can choose to move on, leaving past sins where they belong, forgiven and in the past. When you find that hammer in your hand remind yourself that there is nothing that the blood of Jesus has not already washed away and you are forgiven.

Psalm 103:12

  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

2 Corinthians 5:17

  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old has gone, the new has come!