The Security of Eternity

I heard the end of a sermon on the radio about eternity last week.

It talked about looking at an old epitaph from a headstone in a graveyard that read something to the effect of "Finally realizing his eternal promise."

The pastor pointed out that the epitaph had it wrong.

Once you accept Christ,

that very moment, 

you get the eternal promise. 

Eternity is realized.

I hope that poor guy didn't walk around not knowing that.

Thinking he was always just moments away from a backslide or lost salvation.

God isn't fickle.

What He says is done is done.

Once you truly accept that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, YOU. ARE. SEALED. 

There is nothing you can do about it 

so stop letting some false teacher 

bully you into a guilt trip 

that will cost you every ounce of joy 

and confidence 

and security 

you get once you accept the 

God gift of eternal salvation.

Eternal means without beginning or end; existing through all time; everlasting.

If some churches would just preach that, there would be far less sour faced people 

sitting in their congregations.

Sour faced because they are so caught up 

in their own keeping of their salvation 

(or someone else's) 

that they don't have the energy for joy 

or confidence.

God knew we'd make lousy sin managers so he sent Jesus to earth to take care of it once and for all-- on the cross.

So the department of Sin Management was eliminated.

Much to the Pharisee's chagrin.

You still see a few pop up every now and then.

Pointing fingers.
Shaming.
Bullying.
Trying to keep score.

But those of us that cling tight to our eternity,

could care less.

That's why the angels said to the shepherds,

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

The time of fear was over.

It was a time of good tidings and great joy.

A few years ago, I read a great blog post about The Charlie Brown Christmas episode.

When a frustrated Charlie Brown, trying to direct the Christmas Pageant, asks if anyone knows what the real meaning of Christmas is, Linus walks to the middle of the stage and quotes Luke 2.

When he gets to the part when the angels say, "Fear not," Linus drops his security blanket.

He quotes the rest of  Luke 2 without it.

If you remember, Linus is ALWAYS with his security blanket.

But God is awesome like that, sending his son to a people clinging to fabric for false comfort.

And the ones who truly "get it" drop their blankets 

for a security that has no end.

Here's the video of Linus if you've never seen it.

And here's a link to the entire blog post.

Greedy

We watched Scrooged the other night.

It's a movie with Bill Murray that came out in 1988.

I had never seen it until I married Monte.

It's a modern (1980s) adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" with the three ghosts and everything.

The Tiny Tim character won't speak 

after witnessing his father's murder years before.

Bill Murray is Frank Cross, the Scrooge character who is a successful TV exec bent on ratings and success rather than good quality programming.

The transformation of Frank Cross is pretty phenomenal.

He goes on live TV to explain to everyone listening exactly what he's learned.

The speech gets me every time, every year.

Here it is:






If you believe in this pure thing,

the miracle will happen and you will want it again tomorrow!

You'll get greedy for it.

I love how the writers used the word greedy for something good.

It makes me think of what I can be greedy for.

God's word

Prayer

Encouragement

Hospitality

Not what I can do for others in my own power but what God can do for others through me.

Now that's a reason I wouldn't mind being called greedy.

Sing in Exultation

As I was eating breakfast this morning, this sky happened.

Of course my phone couldn't capture just how pink and orange and bright the sky really was.

Little tiny snowflakes were falling as well.

I'm not sure why but the phrase from an old familiar Christmas song popped into my head,

"Sing choirs of angels, 

sing in exultation."

If color could be a song, this is what it would look like.

And choirs of angels would definitely be singing it.

I looked up what exultation meant and it is

"lively or triumphant joy, as over success or victory."

Not a bad way to start a morning.

1. O, Come, All Ye Faithful
   
   
   1. Oh, come, all ye faithful,
   Joyful and triumphant!
   Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem.
   Come and behold him,
   Born the King of angels;
2. Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him,
   Christ, the Lord.
3. 2. — Sing, choirs of angels,
   Sing in exultation;
   — Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
   Glory to God,
   Glory in the highest;
4. Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him,
   Christ, the Lord.
5. 3. — Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
   Born this happy morning;
   — Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n.
   Son of the Father,
   Now in flesh appearing;
6. Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him;
   Oh, come, let us adore him,
   Christ, the Lord.
7. Text: Attr. to John F. Wade, ca. 1711–1786; trans. by Frederick Oakeley, 1802–1880
   Music: Attr. to John F. Wade

Ginger and Spice and Everything…Lice?!

They're baaack!

Click here and here if you want to know how this isn't our first rodeo when it comes to lice.

A week after Thanksgiving, Ellie kept complaining about an itching scalp. 

I looked through her hair and saw nothing.

But to be fair, 

I wasn't using a magnifying glass.

Or even my reading glasses.

I told her it was just dry scalp and to use some Head and Shoulders.

The next week I found her crying in her room before school.

She said her head was still itching and she feared she had lice.

I looked again and saw nothing 

and sent her to school.

She texted me from school and asked for an appointment at the lice center.

I made an appointment after school but it was only for an assessment.

They were booked solid that day 

and couldn't fit in anymore treatments.

Lice is a demanding business.

Within minutes it was determined I did not have lice and that Ellie did.

They booked Ellie at a different lice center across town for the following morning.

Ellie did not like the idea that she would be sitting around 

the entire night KNOWING she had lice.

We stopped at a drug store to get shower caps and large garbage bags for all the pillows I planned to bag up that I couldn't wash.

Ellie was convinced the cashier would find our purchases revealing to her lice diagnosis 

so she threw in some sour gummy worms to "throw him off."

It's a pharmacy.

I have to believe they've seen far more personal 

and outright revealing purchases than 

a 3-pack of shower caps, 

a box of large garbage bags 

and a bag of sour gummy worms.

I called to update Monte.

Within the hour, he called back to say that he'd called around and found a lice place that could get Ellie in that night around 7:00 and that he'd drive her since it was near his office and he was familiar with the area.

Ellie felt better about not missing school and being "lice free" when her head hit the freshly washed pillow that night.

I told her to start contacting close friends that might want to get checked as well.

She'd just been on a Young Life weekend retreat the weekend before Thanksgiving.

And we had hosted family for Thanksgiving.

The list of lice possibilities was growing.

An hour later, one of Ellie's friends, Molly, suspected she had lice and we texted numbers and offered to take her to the lice place so they could go together.

Ellie was so relieved to be going through this with someone else. 

Her mood changed drastically.

Isn't that the cutest houndstooth shower cap?

She found the funny in it.

Molly cried.

Ellie told her she'd go through four distinct stages of lice acceptance:

1. Denial

2. Sadness

3. Anger

4. Humor

Molly was just beginning.

I made dinner and had frantically began the washing of sheets, pillowcases, comforters, blankets and towels.

My friend Beth stopped by while I was distracting myself in between loads by watching Facebook videos of large alligators and people falling down trying to walk on icy sidewalks.

It had clearly been a long afternoon

and I wasn't the best version of myself.

We were busy catching up when I received a few texts and pictures of the girls from Monte.

Ginger and spice and everything lice--that's what TRUE friends are made of.
Or something much less creepy and itchy than that.
You know what I mean.

It wasn't until later that I realized they were standing by a picture of Santa Claus with lice.

Not looking so jolly.

Beth and I were still catching up when in walked Monte, Ellie and Molly with oily slicked back hair.

They were all laughing and talking at the same time.

Molly had advanced nicely 

through those stages of lice acceptance.

Apparently this "lice place" Monte had booked was in a woman's house.

No sign.

No parking lot.

Just instructions 

not to use 

the front door.

Monte knew ALL OF THIS ahead of time.

Which is why he volunteered to take the girls because HE KNEW I'd say 

NO, NO, 

NEVER, NEVER, 

AIN'T NO WAY!

Greasy, sneaky Monte.

Monte asked lots of questions and learned the woman is a single mom and has a full time job. She and her pharmacist brother came up with a proprietary oil mix to smother the lice. 

She does the "lice thing" on the side for extra money.

She was leaving the next week for Disney World paid for by her lice business.

As it turns out, lice is a demanding AND lucrative business.

She was in the beginning stages of franchising her operation.

I saw where this was going and informed Monte that I would NEVER start checking heads for lice in our garage.

With Beth still here, the girls convinced me that I should let them put the proprietary oil mix in my hair "to be sure" I didn't have lice.

It wasn't going to be the dumbest thing I'd ever done, so I agreed.

Beth's husband texted to see where the heck she was and she said she couldn't leave.

Something to the general effect about this episode of "The Hartranfts" was getting good.

Ellie was right.

Going through something with someone else 

certainly does help change the mood drastically.

Beth became our photographer.

I sent this picture to McDaniel and my mom and they both asked,

"Who took this picture?"

I told them Beth was here.

We have lice.

Let's entertain!

Monte must be closing his eyes and dreaming of all that
franchise lice money he wants me to make.

McDaniel came home from college with friends for a concert this weekend. We tried to get her to let us oil her up.

She refused.

She's in the first stage of lice acceptance:

1. Denial

She'll be home in two weeks for Christmas.

The oil and Lice Santa will be waiting for her.

Monte sent this.
I realize that I posted it but
feel the need to point out
he found it.
And it's gross.