Strangers

I was just thinking how during the past couple weeks I have had two things happen to me where I was in a strange place...the place where complete strangers could have either made me feel like a complete idoit or encourage me. Both times they were encouraging...

Time one involved taking three kids (I was watching) in the early morning to run an errand (The kind that takes at least two hours), as 10:30am approached two of those kids (the other one was a baby who had had a bottle) were getting hungry and I had just gotten word that the cinnamon rolls at their home were all gone. : ( So I did the only thing I could think of...said I would buy them doughnuts. I went to the Okemos Dunkin Dounut on a MSU game day. As the two boys ran to the door I realized it's 10:30am and I am taking two little boys in their pajamas to get doughnuts! At that moment I felt like a wreck... there at the door was a man (who looked old enough to be my father) in a MSU hoodie he said to the boys "They have been waiting for you in there!" Everyone else waiting in line was quite nice to me as well, no one even looked at me funny when the baby started getting fussy. And the boys got green and white donuts!

Fast forward a couple weeks change the boys and baby for two sweet little girls and have us trying to leave a craft store. I am holding the bag and the one year old and the three year old is trying to hold my hand and I am trying to put the buggy back (Midwesterners often call it a cart, but after working two summers at a SC grocery store I will never call it that again). While pushing it into where it is suppose to be I catch a display on the back wheel (why is the display so poorly placed that I cannot put the cart where it goes...who knows?) and you guessed it a buy-it-as-it-is shadow box picture frame falls, glass up, so I can clearly see it cracked. So what did I do...I kind of froze and looked at the cashier...who just looked at me and said into her walkie talkie "lisa to the front" (Another question-why does the young cashier who works in a store where 50% of things are breakable and has no idea what to do when something breaks?) Another customer (a lady who was maybe in her fourties) looks at me and says "that was not a good place for that display", another customer (maybe in het late fifties) comes over and pushes it under the display. I look at the cashier and say"I'm going to go now" and I do.

Both times if these strangers wanting to they could have said things that would have made me cry and I am thankful that they did not!

So the color is red that you stand by

So this past Sunday a Christian Rapper (who is also a pastor) named Curtis Allen aka Voice came to URC, to share his testimony and rap. This was not my first time hearing christian rap live (Ambassador, Trip Lee and Lecrae anyone?) Two things stood out during the whole night.

First, Curtis shared his testimony with us (way to generalized it would be living for the streets-realizing the lies, growing in Christ as a redeemed sinner first as his identity). While I was sitting listening to a man sharing his heart with us, a man whose God is mine God, I was amazed at something that I think about far less than I should. I was amazed at God's grace and mercy on the life of Curtis. And also was amazed to think that the same grace and mercy is not just perfectly displayed in Curtis' life, but in ALL people who are covered in Christ blood, everywhere, myself included.

Second, I observed something Sunday night after the service in three parts. A lady (a mom friend of mine) waiting in line to talk to Curtis with her foster son, later I saw he was praying with her and the boy (I remember at this point thinking I would love to know what Curtis was praying) and then I pass the lady on her way back to the rest of her family, she was crying (Now I really wanted to know). God granted me in a way I least expected, yesterday I read a post by Curtis Allen noting the moment here.

Reminders of Fall

So one of my favorite things about hanging out with so many kiddos is hearing what they say. Earlier this fall one of the three year old girls I watch was so disappointed that on the official first day of fall all the leaves in her front yard were not instantly colorful she nearly cried. On a car ride we took that day we looked for tree with leaves that "knew it was fall". I was not nearly as eager for fall.



Some other kids that I drive from their house to another house spend the whole drive picking out the best fall trees. It is good for me to hear their excitement at God's creation. It is good for me to see through their eyes. I am far less amazed than I should be.

Another of my friends had this to say about the Fall
"These days are so bright and beautiful. We have to go outside and burn them into our imaginations so we can remember them come February".

Salt

For those of you who don't know, as of late I have been on a triple layers cake baking spree. I think I saw a cool one and said something like "I could do that" and I have been working on it ever since. It has been a good road, I am very thankful for the people who have eaten cakes; some good cakes and some bad and then there was the one that I should have thrown away.

I made a little mistake, I took out the sugar container and not the salt container. I realized it after baking. This is really when I should have said throw-it-away. This Vanilla Bean Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting made well could rival a good wedding cake all day long. Made saltless (AKA forgetting the 1/2 teaspoon) is awful, end of story, choke-it down, blahhhh, give it to people you don't like, ewww.

So lesson learned-don't mistake sugar for salt? Not so fast. Today Ben (associate pastor of the church I go to) who is going through the book of Colossians. Talked about Colossians 4:2-6 where Paul is talking about both prayer and evangelism in his closing part of the letter. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Verse 5-6 says, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

What does having speech seasoned with salt mean? Directly quoting John Piper it means this

"So you don’t have a zingy personality! Salt tastes different on steak, corn, watermelon and eggs. You must be you. But there is a salty you and a blah and boring you. God says, “Be salty.” Especially when you are talking about his grace to outsiders. How? Well, just talk as though what you are talking about really tastes good. “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). We can’t fake it. So the real need is to fall in love again with the taste of God! "