Shopping with God

God can't waste anything. It's impossible. He's perfect and waste is a flaw.

That means God is a good shopper. He gets more for the money and He always provides in abundance. When you're faced with financial belt-tightening, it's usually because God wasn't doing the shopping. You were.

I have a friend who used to make a list on the refrigerator if there was something he really wanted. If he still really wanted it after praying about it for 60 days, he would look for a deal. Now THAT will slow you down! It's amazing how many things become unimportant in 60 days. We usually want something different in 60 days. The immediate gratification culture is real.

We're about to go to the Dave Ramsey seminar and while we have listened to his tapes and read his book, we're bracing ourselves for a shift in thinking regarding spending. With my new consulting business expected to provide less income than my full time job did, we need to rethink things anyway. We always feel like we "need" something when in fact, we only "need" food and necessities.

Can we live on less? Can we help others more? Can we ask God to do the shopping? When He tells us to make a purchase, he's always ready to go with us to the store. The rest of the time, He'd just as soon stay home and hang out with us - saving money and investing in something more important.

Coldwater Creek and the Cross

One of the best things about losing weight is losing a size or two. My clothes fit better and I even have some new things. I got a $100 gift certificate from Coldwater Creek for my birthday and waited until after Christmas when their online sale was amazing. Today, I got practically a new wardrobe for $100! And their clothes aren't cheap.

Why do we feel like such great successes when we save a lot of money? Hardly anything gives me such exhileration! I paid $25 for a $100 jacket. Now THAT is exciting! And what's more, it's black houndstooth, the material of choice at University of Alabama (in memory of Bear Bryant's infamous hat - I know, so overboard). So, I got a deal AND I am ready to go visit Elle during football season.

But back to the thrill of the hunt - and the victory of a sale. It occurs to me that salvation is FREE and worth everything. Why don't we feel that sense of excitement over THAT savings (and I do mean SAVE-ings!)? Why don't I call up my friends and neighbors and tell them not to miss THAT bargain? It's the most valuable purchase ever made... Jesus dying on the cross for each of us. That's one deal no one should miss.

Corn Tortillas Changed My Life

You don't understand how deprived I've been. Since the end of October, I've been on a diet and lost 25 pounds (I'd better here a cheer go up here...). The weight loss is the up side, but I've eaten enough grilled chicken and eggbeaters to choke a horse. I've chosen certain veggies, certain fruits, certain protein bars, certain protein shakes and certain milk. I've measured my water intake, consumed volumes of vitamins and supplements with kelp and folic acid. I've measured ounces and teaspoons, bought the right spritzer salad dressing and avoided natural sugars I always considered diet food - like carrots, onions and red grapes. I've kept daily food journals and even taken an "inner diet" psychological test that told me I am a stress eater (big news - they could have paid ME to tell them that).

So you can imagine my joy when I learned something new while meeting with a "fat counselor" recently. I've never seen her before or since so I am convinced this woman was an angel. I walked in for my regular conference and she asked me what I missed most on the diet. I told her I really miss salty things - pretzels, popcorn, chips, crackers. She replied, "Don't you eat salted corn tortillas " What? You mean I can toast a corn tortilla and salt it with my approved Morton's Lite Salt? "You can even spray them with Parkay Spray-on butter and you can have two at a time if you buy the right kind. And you can have them at all three meals."

Did the rapture come because I think I'm in heaven! I didn't know about fat-free spray-on butter and I certainly didn't know about salted tortillas. The counselor went on, "And three mornings a week, you can put low-fat mozzarella cheese on them." You're kidding. I sat there stunned. I felt like a drug addict that had just been told that cocaine won't hurt you. I had to get to Publix, and fast.

Some days are all about gaining spiritual insights and some days are simply about corn tortillas.

I almost lost my way

Sometimes, God is really entertaining. Just a couple of days before I lost my full time management job, I wrote in this blog that God is faithful and I trust Him. And that I was ready to face the new year with that in mind. I'm sure God was smiling and thinking, "You trust me? You're about to lose your job, so we're going to find out if you trust me."

Interestingly, after the initial shock, I have had a peace about the career change. I wish I could tell you that I haven't given my job another thought - "just leavin' it up to God!" - but the truth is, I think about it all of the time. I plan and plot my next move and network and wonder and update my resume. I've tried to figure out how to make enough money to pay for my daughter's college and how I can manipulate finances in my favor. I've even thought of the demands I would make in a new job negotiation.

Then tonight, something hit me while I was praying at our prayer service at church. It was God - and it wasn't a still, small voice. It was His booming move of the Spirit in my soul. He reminded me of something I'd lost sight of, but have always treasured. Work is a ministry. Marketplace ministry is a crucial mission field. I believe that. I have lived it. I have cherished it. So how can I pursue a job when I'm focused on my needs, yet I know the primary objective is "where do you want me to minister now, Lord? What's next?"

After that, someone was praying for me and simply said to me, "Show her what's next, Lord." This person had no idea I had just lost my job. God was speaking to me again. Directly. He knows what I'm going through and He's encouraging me. He's not worried. He knows what's next.

I'm switching gears. I'm going to let God take care of my finances while I focus on finding a new ministry. I'll bet He has one for me....

Where did that come from?

Have you ever said something fairly profound and then wondered where in the world that wisdom came from? It's called revelation knowledge. If you're a believer, God does that in you. Suddenly, He reveals something out of the blue and you blurt it out. It surprises you. And the person you say it to seems amazed at the depth of your insight. But it's not your insight. It's His.

God's insight was revealed to me today as I was talking to a friend about her fears. It occurred to me (supernaturally) that fear often comes from hiding something. When you try to hide who you really are - your fallacies, your mistakes, your anxieties - there is a fear of being "found out". I've realized that pretenses are couched in fear. What freedom comes when you're transparent!

Have you noticed that people who love you don't stop loving you when they discover a flaw? What a relief or no one would love me! So why do we try to be something we're not? The older I get, the less I try. I've begun to adjust to who I am (finally) and I'm hoping others are adjusting to me too. If they aren't, they don't love me. And if they don't love me, I don't have to be concerned about what they think.

It's a burden lifted when we don't have to work hard at covering our tracks, trying to be someone we aren't. And when we know we're still loved.

God is like Holiday Inn

If you're old enough, you remember a great ad campaign for Holiday Inn. I love good ad slogans since I'm an ad writer. "The best surprise is no surprise." Great line. God's like that. Nothing surprises Him. He's just what you'd expect - He's steady, confident, all-knowing, in control and never phased. Nothing throws Him. Nothing pulls Him off course. Nothing deters Him.

I'd like to be like God. Steady, sure, focused and on course. I'm not. That's why a reorganization at my agency this week threw me. My job was shifted from fulltime to parttime consulting. Here I am, needing more security with the cost of college facing us and instead, I get less security. It came from nowhere. It was a decision I didn't expect. And yet (in my true risk-taker style), I'm excited to see how God is going to take care of this situation. What does He have in store for me next? How will my ministry change? How will He provide for our financial needs?

The biggest thing I've learned about life's surprises is not to be surprised (right after my initial shock dies down). I've learned to trust God to know a better way. I've figured out that my problems are really His problems. It's up to Him to solve this. And while, admittedly, I would like it better had I not been surprised, I make a quicker recovery as I get older. Experience with God has shown me that surprises are something God uses to change my course. I should welcome that.