New Things - Like Makeup and Such

I'm the type of person that just sticks to the same old thing in a lot of ways.  Same favorite colors of clothing, same furniture arrangement in our home, same makeup brands and colors.  Mostly the reason I "stick to the same old thing" is because I don't like change in those areas, but in the makeup area, I'm too cheap frugal to change.  I don't want to buy something and then not like it.  I don't like to waste the products if they don't work out, so I don't waste money on trying new products. I just stay with the same thing all of the time.

A few weeks ago, due to certain circumstances, I had to try something new.  I had to try different makeup.  And you know what?  I liked it!  It was fun and it worked (well at least I thought it looked good!)  Who knew that new and different makeup might actually be better??? Probably all of you!

Here's what happened:  I went to the QMCC ladies retreat and at the end of the retreat, I packed up my stuff in the vehicle.  During breakfast a friend brought me my makeup bag, saying I had left it in the cabin. I joked that if I had left it it at QMCC, I would have had to wear three teenage girls' makeup the next day.  I said that because after the retreat I was going to stop by my house, unload the retreat decorations and clothes, and head to Arlington, Texas, with my husband, daughter, and two of her friends for an overnight trip (you can read about that trip here).  We both laughed about that possibility of borrowing makeup from teenagers.  Little did I know that would be exactly what would be happening the next day!

I got back home and my sons and husband all helped me unload.  My makeup bag and Bible were in one of the decoration buckets that my son, Zachary, took in. I grabbed my Bible, but failed to notice that my makeup bag was in there, as well.  Into the house it went, and in the opposite direction I went.  I didn't notice that my makeup bag was missing until the next day.

Early Sunday morning we woke up early to get ready for worship and Bible class.  My husband and I were in one hotel room and the three teenage girls were in an adjoining room.  I asked my husband if he had seen my makeup bag.  He hadn't.  He even went down to the car and checked.  It was no where!  I knocked on the girls' door and told them my problem...asking if I could borrow theirs.  My daughter has a much darker complexion than I do, so I borrowed some of her stuff and some from one of her lighter-complected friends.

I was so surprised that I liked a lot of my daughter's makeup!  In fact, some of the things I liked even better than my own.  I couldn't believe it, really!  So, the next time I went to the store, guess what I did?  I bought new makeup.  Aren't you proud of me?????  I got out of that makeup rut and tried something new! (You can clap for me....it's okay :).  Who knows?  I might even decide to rearrange furniture some day. (doubtful)

New things.  Sometimes it's hard to try new things.  But unlike my wanting to try new makeup because I didn't want to waste money, many new things we could try don't cost a thing.  Now they may make us feel uncomfortable.  They may make us nervous.  But we mustn't let fear keep us from trying something new....especially from trying something new as it relates to our service to God.

At that ladies retreat I mentioned, we needed someone to lead the singing.  The "usual" song leader was busy that weekend and wasn't going to be able to attend.  I sent a message to a friend that I knew was coming and asked her if she would lead the songs.  She said yes.  I don't think she realized just how many songs she would be leading over the course of the over-night event!  She later said that, even though at first she wasn't sure about it, trying something new was good for her.  She did an excellent job!

Another friend at the retreat gave a devotional thought.  She, too, wasn't sure about doing it when I asked her, but she said yes anyway.  She decided to try something new, just because I had asked her (which is another lesson for us:  It never hurts to ask!).  She also did an excellent job.

Both of these women tried something new.  They both discovered a new talent.  They both found new talents that can be used in their service to God.  Isn't that great??!

So, will you try something new? Maybe you can just start out small....like me.....and try some new makeup!  Or maybe you can try something really worthwhile, such as branching out and finding a new talent like my friends did. 

Try something new.  Find a new way to serve God.  Tell someone about Jesus.

You can do it!  Then, write and tell me and I'll clap for you (and pray a prayer of thanks for you), 'mkay?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Don't Be a Goat!

Last week while my husband was gone, Zachary (our oldest son) and I would go and feed the goats in all of the fields. Our three oldest show goats as FFA/4-H projects and they take care of them, but there are also three fields of goats that my husband takes care of mostly himself that are breeding stock.

One of the fields has a guard dog, Ranger. Ranger is very intellegent, as I was able to see for myself this week. This particular field is "U" shaped and you drive up in the middle of the "U" to feed Ranger and the goats.  There is field area on either side of the drive. When we drove up and my son got out of the pickup he said, "Mom, watch Ranger."

We had parked more towards the south side, but as soon as Zachary went towards the north side with the dog food, Ranger took off quickly and ran as hard as he could all the way around the field and to the other side to his food.  He knew immediately which side of the field his food was being taken as soon as Zachary lifted it out of the back of the pickup.  (A funny this is that he wouldn't eat it. Zachary (and my husband) say that he never eats it until they leave.)

The goats stand in a row along the south part of the field, looking at me sitting in the pickup and Zachary, as he is taking their food to the NORTH part of the field. They can see Ranger from across the field, too. But, instead of running around to the food like Ranger did, they just stand there - looking and meheheeeing (that's the sound goat's make, in case you don't know!). I'll just say that goats are "intellectually challenged"....that's a nice way to put it!

After a while...quite a while....the goats figured out that their food is on the other side of the field and then one by one they turned and began running to the other side. Now, I should explain that my husband or son do this on either side to make it easier to pour out the feed. If they poured it on the side where the goats were, they would be in the way and the feed would go everywhere.

So, I got to thinking....there HAS to be some sort of spiritual application to this story. And here's what I thought of: We are all different. We have different degrees of intelligence. We all have different talents. Some of us work quickly. Some of us work slowly. BUT, none of us should be like those goats, who day after day, do the SAME THING over and over and never figure out what is going on. They stand there for quite a while just looking and "talking" (goat language)- not having learned anything from the days before, but repeating the same thing (that doesn't work) each day. Ranger is the leader and shows that quality every day, but, he himself doesn't have any followers. 

You would think that eventually one of the goats would look to his example, but no.  They just stand together in their same group, looking at him from the other side of the field and talk.  Wonder what they are saying in goat language?  "Look at that dog?  What does he think he's doing?  He's going to the other side of the fence.  That will never work.  We've always done it this way."  Eventually one goat finally starts towards the field and then the others begin to follow.

As Christians we should be following in Jesus' footsteps, which lead to God.  But, sometimes, we are looking at those around us and see what they are doing and we follow them.  We want to stay in our comfort zones and in our familiar groups and not grow closer to God on our own.  Of course, we can learn from the examples of others, but we have to be careful not to be following them as a human beings, but instead be following Jesus - a spiritual being.  And, like the goats, sometimes we tend to just stay in our same little groups or cliques, uncomfortable to reach out to others or go along with others (who, like the dog, are taking the lead and accomplishing what he needs to)  and who also may be doing the right thing.  If we follow others, we may be learning what is "True" and "Right", but we might not be.  We must follow Jesus and God, and let the Spirit lead us. We must do what the Bible says....not what men/women say.  We must look to the examples of others to learn from them, but only be followers of Jesus.

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” —Psalm 118:8

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Can you think of any other spiritual example to this goat/dog scene?  It's amazing to watch the creatures God made!

The Chronicles of Biscuit - Learning Something New

Last week Biscuit worked and worked on learning something new.

He was so excited when he finally figured out how to do it!

Yes, Biscuit learned how to blow a bubble! It was something he had been working on for a while and he finally got it down. Of course, the bubble didn't stay too long. I had to snap a picture of it really fast, but he did it!

Learning something new is fun, isn't it? This summer the three oldest children and I have a daily Bible reading schedule. I found it on the internet, but it's not in any particular order. This reading is in addition to our family devotional time where we read a Bible story each evening. It has been so neat to hear the kiddos come and say, "Mom, I didn't know this part of the story!". I'm the same way. You may be, too. Every time I read from God's Word, even though it may be a story I've read over and over, I always learn something new.

I have a challenge for you: Try to learn something new every day. Maybe it's something from God's Word. Maybe it's learning how to serve God in a different way by discovering a hidden talent you didn't know you had or might have been afraid to try and use. Maybe it's reaching out to someone and learning something new about them that you never knew before. Whatever it is - try to learn something new each and every day. In doing so you will "Shine Like Stars"!