Your Beauty Cream or Mine?

As I sat in the doctor's waiting room today, my eyes caught the covers of several women's magazines. Honestly, the media must think that we can't function without them. They all go over the same topics ad nauseum, so either they think we're dumb and don't get it, or their advertisers pay them big bucks to convince us how bad off we are so we will buy all the beauty and diet products. Here are just a few of the topics covered:

• You, only thinner!
• Are you on the wrong diet?
• Good news for people who hate to exercise.
• 27 things every woman should know about sex.
• Beauty Journal - fast cures and quick fixes.

Do you get the picture? We aren't thin enough, beautiful enough, sexy enough. What gets me is everything is written as gospel until the next big thing comes along and then we are told to forget everything old and grasp onto the new. It wears me out.

Several of our Groovy Tuesday gals struggle with serious health issues. They know that they are far more valuable than the sum of their external parts, but they, too, struggle with being at peace with who they are in God's eyes and not who they are in the world's eyes. What I love about them, though, is that they are real with their struggle.

I once heard someone say that when they die, they don't want to have a perfectly preserved body but, instead, a fully used body; sliding into home plate at the very end, exhausted and used up. I say "amen sister!" Having said that --- pass the anti-wrinkle cream! (Yep, I'm conflicted, too, but not obsessed.)

A Choice

Life is like a coin.
I can spend it anyway I want, but
I can only spend it once. (unknown)

I will not just live my life.
I will not just spend my life.
I will invest my life. (Helen Keller)

Nests

It's Spring and I'm totally enchanted with the birds in my yard. I'd like to think that they are attracted by the perfect habitat I created for them; but the fact remains, I didn't choose them, they chose me -- or I should say, they chose my vines, my trees. It's thrilling to watch them build their nest, knowing that tiny life will emerge weeks later. It's sad when a nest is built in an unsafe location, open to danger from blowing winds and predatory animals.

Jesus taught about a metaphor about building our lives on rock (Truth) not sand (lies and illusions).

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27)

No Ordinary Shrimp

Oahu, Hawaii, highway 38, somewhere along the North Shore, there sits an ordinary white catering truck covered with graffiti and affectionally known as Giovanni's Shrimp Shack. The graffiti comes from the signatures and comments of enthusiastic fans worldwide who sing praises of shrimp. Not just ordinary shrimp. Sumptuous garlic & butter. Delicious lemon & butter. Mouth-numbing spicy & hot. An overhead canopy and picnic tables outside are all the ambiance this place has, but whose looking when you're fixated on the yummy flavors and the sauce dripping from your lips? I get hungry just thinking about it.

Beauty

I've been thinking a lot about Cinderella lately. Not the Disney version, but the Groovy Tuesday version. Our Cinderella has always struggled with her body image, and now her body is doing things that amaze her. Her beauty secret? --- She took the eyes off herself and turned them outward to help others. In doing so, she is gaining the reward of health and beauty that is far beyond what the beauty magazines can offer. To be more precise, Cinderella is in training for a 65 mile bike ride for breast cancer. Yikes! Prior to this, she might have peddled herself around the block and called it a day. And now, we will be cheering her on as she peddles to a much bigger finish.

Beauty. I think a lot of women struggle with beauty, even if they are already physically quite attractive. So what is it? One of the dictionary definitions is "a pleasing quality associated with harmony of form or color, excellence of craftsmanship, truthfulness, originality, or other, often unspecifiable property." Whoa! Truthfulness? Originality? Unspecificable property? Sounds to me like beauty goes way beyond the plastic surgeon standard.

Ginger Garrett has written a book entitled Beauty Secrets of the Bible, the Ancient Arts of Beauty & Fragrance (www.gingergarrett.com) While she offers all kinds of beauty tips that are natural, organic and enduring, her real focus is on a woman's inner beauty and how she perceives herself. One of the times in my life when I felt extremely beautiful was during the birth of my son. Oh, it wasn't a pretty sight visually, but the excellent craftsmanship and uniqueness of my son made me feel like the most beautiful mother in the world.

Oh sure, I use anti-aging products, exercise and even comb my hair once in awhile because it's my vanity in the world. Ginger Garrett has another take on that. Her words:

You are a miracle of stunning design...formed in the dark quiet place of an unseen womb, created to display the grace of God to (the) world. You are a memorial to the God of love. Your ...beauty is an invitation for others to know and be known.

Ginger goes on to sing the praises of truthful beauty. Her words:

The first beauty secret of the Bible is that it's not only okay to believe yourself to be beautiful, but that belief..is actually a part of your spiritual life...Beauty is an expression of spiritual creativity. Beauty originates with God...The world believes beauty is an external varnish and a temporary condition. But in reality...beauty is not about what we're presenting---a finished product to be judged---but what we're expressing....We are women who are deeply loved and beautiful by His touch....God calls us to recognize the sacred in a world of pollution. Sacred means set apart, not for common use...The world's standards are not relevant.

Amen to that, sister! So to all the Cinderellas out there I say, embrace your uniqueness, take good care of your excellent craftsmanship, and love your beautiful selves. It's a special gift from your Maker.

And as for our own bike-peddling Cinderella --- you go girl!!!

Profound yet Troubling

"...let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ. And face it ...everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ---sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.

...And if Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. ..But the truth is that Christ has been raised up...

Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford.." (1Corinthians 15:12-34 from The Message)

Hope

I took Mom to the hospital last night. Another trip in a series of endless trips over the past two years for her heart. As she lay there on the emergency room bed, my mind flashed between hope that she would be released and sent home, and fear of losing her. Hope won. Hope won because of the undeniable love that a father has for his people that he was willing to make an unthinkable sacrifice for them. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Hope wins whether my mother makes it out of the hospital or not, because I believe in the undeniable power of a Father's love.

Peeps and Spring

Happy Spring from the Groovy Tuesdays! Ted made this peeps bouquet. That woman is so darn talented and cute that it would be easy to be jealous of her --- but instead, we celebrate her gifting and rejoice when she shares her food making talents with us. Her desserts are particularly yummy and always a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. (Okay, peeps may be uber-sugary confections, but in this case they work.)

Paradise

I'm taking off and heading for an island in the Pacific. Warm sun, blue skies, white sand and turquoise water. It's a nice counterpoint to the time I spend skiing in majestic, snow-covered mountains. Could such incredible beauty be the result of random selection, physics and chemistry -- or was there a greater hand at work? Nothing like time in nature away from man-made life to settle one's soul, heart and mind; and to ponder the greater things of life. The computer is staying home. I'll catch up with you later.

From Vampire Queen to Child of God

Hmm, read something interesting about Anne Rice, author of the vampire Lestat books, in the March 17, 2008 issue of Time Magazine (pg 6). She says she wrote about vampires because they "were a way to talk about life and reality--vampires are the perfect metaphor for the lost soul." An atheist for 38 years, I wonder if she was writing about herself.

After her recent conversion back to Christianity, she began writing about the life of Christ, vowing never to write another vampire book. In her newest book. Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, she is side-stepping that vow. But let me digress for a moment to share her sweet words regarding her return to faith.

She says, "Americans like to believe we turn to religion because of an accident or the loss of a loved one, but in my case it was simply the culmination of searching. I wrestled with a lot of theological questions, and then one afternoon, I thought, I love you---I want to go back to you."

So now Rice is writing about Lestat one more time, but she claims, "I won't be writing about vampires in the old way...it will be written in a redemptive framework, where he is wrestling with the existence of God."

Redemption. Prodigal son or daughter.

I would like to set a table for tea and invite Anne Rice, ex-atheist and author of vampire-chronicles-turned to-God-chronicles, and Karen Armstrong, ex-nun and author of intellectual books on religion to hear their respective thoughts on God and redemption. I think I will be sitting on Anne's side of the table.

Playful Deeds

“It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.”

(Thomas Aquinas)

Someone sent me this quote. I love the idea of playful deeds. It sounds so young, uninhibited and free. Remember all the playful deeds you used to do as a kid?

I like to send cards anonymously. They surprise people. They make people happy. Despite all the fast, in-your-face means of communication we have at our disposal today, there's nothing like holding a card or letter in your hand. I still get excited when I receive a piece of real mail (not bills or junk mail). I often brew a cup of tea before I open it so I can fully slow down and savor the moment.

I used to have a Secret Sister. The idea was to fully honor her without her knowing who was doing it. I'd send her gifts for her birthday, or for no particular reason at all. I'd send cards of affirmation and encouragement. Hmm, I haven't done that in a long time. It sounds like fun.

Have you done any playful deeds lately?

Birds

I have come to love birds. I thoroughly enjoy watching them. They fascinate me. They humor me. They endear themselves to me. Their songs give me joy. I especially love the small finches and hummingbirds.

While in the backyard today, I looked up in the sky and saw several black birds repeatedly attacking a hawk that was calmly and persistently circling round and round in the same general area. My husband thought they might be crows, but I couldn't tell. I have seen small birds go after a hawk in order to protect their nest from becoming the predator's dinner --- but I have never seen the birds get so close that they were actually pecking at the hawk's wings mid-flight. With each peck, the hawk's flight would stutter for a moment and then go back to its slow, purposeful, circular glide. It was equally fascinating and devastating to watch. The black birds won this time, but there will be another attack in the future.

So it got me to thinking --- am I rooting for the black birds or the hawk? At first I sided completely with the smaller birds thinking of the hawk as evil coming to kill the occupants of the nest. I saw them as righteous victors, protecting what was theirs. Then I got to thinking about the hawk. What if it was a mother hawk who was looking for food for her own nest of young hawks? Wasn't she equally righteous in her quest?

What if we gave the participants of this drama another name? What if the hawk was Satan? The slow,deliberate moves of this animal reminded me of Satan's very methodical, planned and relentless quest to cause us to stumble. And, if at first he doesn't succeed, he will return. The small birds are men and women who are equipped with God's Word and Truth to peck back at Satan and keep him at bay.

Don't like the idea of Satan? Okay, name him something else. Your addictions. Your fears. Your unkindness. Your lies. Your pride. Your bad choices. Your _____. I'm not preaching here. I'm tracking with you. I'm walking in shoes of vulnerability, too. In fact, every woman in our Groovy Tuesdays group would be nodding their collective heads in unison with what I am saying. We are all vulnerable to attack.

I want peace despite my circumstances. I want daily joy regardless of what I am facing. I can only do it with Jesus.

Passion and Purpose

We had a delightful guest recently at our Groovy Tuesday gathering. Her name is Tatiana (prefers to be called Tanya) Garkavenko. She and her husband, Max, emigrated to Israel from the Ukraine 10 years ago and are passionately in love with their new homeland. They are also passionately in love with Christ and made the decision to become full-time missionaries in their own land. For Tanya, a Messianic Jew (a Jew who knows and loves Jesus), it is a thrilling but sometimes dangerous profession.

Of 7 million Jews, only 10,000 have come to know Christ. There is no religious freedom in Israel when it comes to Christianity. Very religious Jews make it difficult, if not downright dangerous to preach the Gospel. In fact, just passing out leaflets proclaiming the Good News of Christ often has to be done under the cover of night.

But for Max and Tanya, there is no other choice. They are passionate for the Lord and believe with all their hearts in the salvation of Christ. For this they are willing to forgo their jobs, live in a cramped apartment with their 3 children, and depend on the generosity of others to support them financially. They are taking huge steps of faith that their Maker will take care of their needs while they fulfill their purpose for Him.

How many of us live with this kind of passion and purpose?

To stay in full-time ministry, Tanya and Max, need both your prayers and your financial help. If you would like to donate money on a one-time or regular basis, you can do so through Campus Crusade at:

Campus Crusade for Christ
100 Lake Hart Drive, Orlando, FL 32832-0100
or
www.give.ccci.org/

Account 2811788 in the name of Max & Tatiana Garkavenko.

A gathering of the blue bathrobes

It's interesting how an ordinary, rather mundane piece of clothing can represent something so very special and extraordinary. The particular piece of clothing I have in mind is a plush, blue bathrobe that was given as a gift from one of the Groovy Tuesdays (as we call ourselves) to the rest of us after a 3-day, girls-only, birthday retreat. (Yes, we each got our own, we didn't have to share.) It was her way of saying thank you for being in my life. Now when I wear mine, I am so beautifully reminded of the love and support that this group of girlfriends have for each other, and of how much fun we have. It was after this birthday weekend that I felt compelled to write a blog.

Groovy Tuesday is a group of 9 sensational women who are at different stages of their lives but who share the common bond of a love for the Lord, and a desire to be real and held accountable in their walk with Him. Our ages range from 40 to 61, all of us are remarried and in blended families except for one who is still married to her college sweetheart; some have full-time jobs; some are empty nesters; and we come in different shapes and sizes. We have goofy nicknames for each other and you will be meeting these women in this blog --- Cinderella, Betty Boop, Muffy, Peppermint, Ted, Kelly, Jamie, Snow White and me, Casey. I hope you join us on our journey.