A word about “Fifty shades of grey”

This is a word for someone… I’m sure of it.  It came on the day that the trailer for the movie “Fifty shades of grey” came out.

I had a dream tonight.  Michelle and I were on a couple’s getaway at a small bed and breakfast and it was early evening.  There were a few people mingling around on the deck and Michelle and I were sitting on a porch swing just catching up about the day’s events.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a beautiful, innocent little girl skipping by and she took her place in the grass not far from us.  You see, there was a dog lazing in the cool grass and she wanted to pet him.  She laid down face first, picked a dandelion,  and allowed him to start gently licking her face.  It was the cutest thing ever.

And then he bit her nose.

I was pissed.  “Hey!  No!” I yelled at the dog and swatted him away from her.  A little trickle of blood was running down her nose where he had nipped her and broken her skin.  She wasn’t crying, but I was mad nonetheless.   I started shouting “Hey!  Who’s dog is this?”  For some reason, maybe it’s because I have four daughters, in that moment I had NO tolerance for this dog or its owner and I wanted to let both of them have it.

Just then, a guy who could not speak english came running up to me.  It was obvious the dog was his and he had let it just wander around the yard unattended.  I was yelling at him and he was trying to communicate back to me but could not.  The dog ran away.

It’s what happened next that shot me straight up out of bed.

Now I’m screaming at this guy “your dog bit this little girl!  And now look, it’s going to get hit by a (expletive) car!”  I’m so emotional that my voice is cracking and I have a quick, conscious thought about why I just cursed this guy.  Am I that mad?  He’s confused and looks down the hill from where we are standing and it’s a massive freeway.  Cars, trailers, and semi trucks are FLYING by.

The dog enters the highway.

The first ten or so cars avoid the dog.  Oddly, he’s grown bigger since he was in the grass.  Like, six times bigger and he’s wandering around on the highway as cars fly past him.

And then it happens.  A car tries to avoid the dog but loses control and spins out.  I’m thinking “Oh God, please don’t let there be a pile up on this freeway because of this stupid dog.”

BOOM.  Someone slams into that car going 80 miles and hour and now there are two.  And then, in an instant, the freeway becomes sheer chaos.  BOOM, another car.  And another one.  Now a semi truck jackknifes and spreads itself out across the median.  My heart is racing.  The guy is screaming for his dog.  People from the bed and breakfast are gathered at the top of the hill watching helplessly as the pileup continues.  One guy gets out of his car and tries to help someone and he’s smashed in between his car and another one.  I can’t believe I’m watching this.  I’m certain that it’s about to get worse but there’s NOTHING I can do.  And then…

All at once seven, maybe eight blue garbage trucks simultaneously slam into the pile of cars and people at 80 miles an hour and absolutely destroy any hope for those caught in the mangled mess of steel and flesh.  Cars on the freeway are slowing down and backing up now, but the damage is done.

My heart is destroyed.  I’m holding the little girl with a trickle of blood running down her face.  Three minutes ago this was about her.  Now, it’s become far bigger than a scratch on her nose.

Just then, I see the dog gently jog out of the pileup on the opposite hillside of the freeway.  He’s unhurt.  He’s untouched.  He has no conscience and therefore no comprehension of the damage he’s just caused.  I scream “call 911!” and begin running into the bed and breakfast for a phone and then I shoot straight up in bed.

It was all a dream I tell myself.  Go back to sleep.  But I can’t.

Here is the word that was lodged deep into my heart.  Little decisions lead to big decisions.

No one wakes up one morning and says to themselves “I think I’ll cheat on my wife this morning.”

No one wakes up one morning and says to themselves “I think I’ll destroy the lives of my family and friends with a pornography problem.”

No one wakes up one morning and says to themselves “I think I’ll get divorced today and have to split custody of my children with my ex.”

Nope, that’s not how it works.  We first just pet the dog.  And then he draws a little blood.  And then it causes a little confusion.  And then a lot of confusion.  And then one or two people get hurt.  And then a whole lot of innocent people get hurt.  And then the dog carries on his merry way… unleashed and free in the world.

Our issues (weight, gambling, alcohol, illegal drugs, pornography, anger, gossip, financial problems, deception etc.) almost always start small.  It may take 20 years or more for them to grow into full blown freeway crashes.  That’s why it’s so important to steer clear of things like “Fifty shades of grey.”  It would be a little decision to go to the movies, but it could lead to another one, and another one, and another one and pretty soon, you might make a big one.

John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy

James 4:7 – Resist the devil and he will flee from you

The more you do, the more you can do

And the less you do, the less you can do…

I heard this quote from Joyce Meyer the other week and it really struck me.  I immediately thought of different life situations where it might apply and thought of a few obvious ones.

Exercise:  This one is obvious.  If you’re lifting weights and gaining strength, over the course of time you’ll be able to lift more and gain more strength.  Likewise, the more sedentary you are, when you go to pick up that 10 lb. dumbbell, you won’t be able to do much with it. Once you run that first mile, it becomes a lot easier to run the second one.

Eating healthy:  This one isn’t quite as obvious, but very true if you test it for yourself.  Did you know that your palate actually changes the more you send it certain things?  I recently did a 30 days sugar free fast and found it to be absolutely true that things I desired prior to the fast actually tasted horrible at the end.

Giving:  Know a giver?  I bet they have all that they need.  I didn’t say that they have a Mercedes and a million dollar home.  I said they have all they need.  Know a miser?  I bet they’re miserable.  We’re all taught as kids that “it’s better to give than to receive” but I contend that it’s also EASIER to give than to receive.  Check out these bible verses and try it for yourself.  Luke 6:38 and Proverbs 11: 24-25.

Finding starfish and sand dollars:  What?  I’m throwing this one in from vacation in Florida.  My girls have been collecting shells for six days straight.  My Lily prayed that she would find a starfish, a sponge, a sand dollar, and a shark’s tooth.  No luck the first few days.  However, once she found her first sand dollar, she and her sisters found ten more.  Once she found her first starfish, she and her sisters found three more that day!  Once they saw that it was possible, it became easier.

Anyway, there are a ton more examples of this theory in real life.  Got any?  Leave them in the comment section!

Just in time

Spoiler alert:  This post has much to do with my faith in Jesus.  Just warning those of you who are made to be uncomfortable with that.

 

We’re on vacation.  And when you’re on vacation, you pack a lot of things.  And when you pack a lot of things, you sometimes forget to “manage” all of those things.  Well, two nights ago we forgot to “manage” the cooler that was plugged into the car charger that was keeping the meat we brought from Michigan frozen.  In other words, when we retired for the evening at the Embassy Suites in Birmingham, Alabama the cooler was still sucking juice from the car battery.  Until 1:49 a.m. when the battery gasped its last breath.  I know this because that’s what time the clock was stuck on when I turned the key the next morning to hear nothing.

 

Liza and I woke up early to go down and clean out the car for the next leg of the trip.  This was God move number one.  As we walked out the revolving door I saw a parking spot right in the front.  “Cool, Liza!  Let’s pull the van right there so we can make it easier to load up when we leave!”  She nodded her agreement.  That was God move number two.  You see, if we wouldn’t have gotten up early to clean the van or if I wouldn’t have seen the empty spot, I would’ve never tried to start the car until we (and our traveling partners – the wonderful DeBoer family) we totally loaded up and ready to hit the road.

 

So there we are.  Dead car.  Emabassy Suites in Birmingham.  Everyone else asleep.  Every problem creates an opportunity to learn.

I decide to show off in front of Liza.  Bad move.  I say “Liza, watch this.”  And I pray… out loud… fervently… in the name of Jesus…and I speak life into the battery of that car…and I declare that it will start.  All the while, I’m imagining how cool it’s going to be when this sucker turns over and my six year old sees that GOD IS REAL!!  Nothing happens.  I try again.  Still nothing.  Unlike the 450 prophets of Baal, I do not cut my clothes.  I give up and tell God that I’m surprised he didn’t want to show up at that moment but I’m still believing…

 

We headed to the front desk to ask for jumper cables.  After calling the engineer and the driver of the hotel, it was determined that the hotel did not own jumper cables.  This was God move number three.  An opportunity to stay in the moment and see what God had in store.  I take Liza back up to the hotel room where all four of the other girls are now up and getting ready.  I tell them the news and that I’ll get it taken care of.  I head to the elevator.

As I enter the down elevator, a young lady – probably 20 – looks to exit.  It’s obvious she’s just woken up and is a bit disoriented.  I chuckle with her that she’s got to wake up because she needs floor #1 and she’s not there yet!  We have a light conversation as the awkward elevator time passes and go our separate ways when we reach floor #1.   God move number four coming up.

“Paul, do you have jumper cables?”  “Yes, I bought them before we went to Morocco last time because I knew we would have to leave our car in Chicago for ten days and it would be -20 when we got back.”  Good call.  We dig them out.  However, there’s a problem.  My van is nose first into a landscape area with cars on either side.  There’s no way to hook these cables up.  There is one spot two spots over that he can pull into and he does.  NO reaching me for sure from here.  We spot an empty spot in the row behind me and I’m on a little bit of a hill so he says “put it in neutral, roll backwards into that spot and we’ll be good.”  “Cool,” I say.

I’m in the driver’s seat, I’ve got the key in the ignition of the dead car, foot is on the brake, I’m ready to roll backwards… it’s the last possible second that something could change… and it does.

The young lady who I chatted with on the elevator appears out of nowhere, jumps in her Jeep Liberty, starts it up and heads out.  She was in the spot right next to me.

The night before, we had to change rooms for our friends because the hotel was overbooked.  There were 300 cars in that parking lot.  Probably over 1,000 guests staying there that night.  THAT GIRL PARKED RIGHT NEXT TO MY DEAD CAR.  Coincidence? Karma? I just don’t see it.

Paul pulled up, batteries matched perfectly, and we were started.  All before a single daughter’s butt hit the seat at 8:30 a.m.

Later, as Paul and I walked on the beach with the young’uns, I told him all the details of the story including my attempt to show off in front of Liza.  He reminded me that was about ME and God wanted it to be about HIM.  I agreed.

God is never early… but he’s never late either.