4 Oct

Tired.

Posted by Sherry in Not Food.

I’m posting for the sake of emptying my head this morning.

T-I-R-E-D is a word that was given to me this morning.  It has been present in my all week’s study time, so after being hit on the head with it long enough, I figured I need to dig in and see what the Lord is revealing to me.

As I prepared for work this morning, I was saying a prayer of thanksgiving over the disciples.  Were they ever tired?  You betcha!  Our Sunday school lesson brought this to the forefront for me.  I imagine if I was standing in the presence of Jesus, being taught by his messages, being asked to come along on his path……I imagine that I see first hand the miracles he performed……I imagine the power that the disciples were given to cast out demons and heal the sick……..I imagine……what if I was one of them?

HELLO!  I am!  I AM ONE OF THEM!   I DO stand in the presence of Jesus.  I AM being taught by his messages.  I AM being asked to come along on his path.  I DO see first hand the miracles he performs.  I DO have the power to make an impact on those who are lost, those who are sick.

Don’t you know those disciples were tired?   But what a different tired that must have been from the tired some of them knew from the fishing boats.

“Lord, I can get completely exhausted from working in the yard, from working at my job, from worry and anxiety…….I tire from many, many things.  I wake today wanting to tire FOR YOU, exhaust me!  Let me be a witness and a worker for you, Jesus.  I want my satisfying slumber to come from the reprieve of your promises, after being a tireless witness for you.  Amen.”

 

29 Sep

Krispy Kreme & A Prayer

Posted by Sherry in Not Food.

I love my coffee in the mornings.
It’s a special treat when I get to have someone else’s coffee in the morning, like today.
Somehow I found a few minutes before work, and a couple of dollars, that allowed for a luxurious trip to the drive-thru at Krispy Kreme today.
Joy!
I had sweet anticipation of sitting at my desk with a warm cup of smooth deliciousness.
As I turned into the KK, a big white Yukon cut in front of me.
Blatantly!
Without excuse or pardon, without care, just turned sharp and cut in the line ahead of me.
I was so surprised – not by the act – but by the calm I had in reaction.

“Lord!  Where did that come from?”

Of course, I knew where it came from, and I thanked him and was so delighted over the person I was versus the person I knew I would have been before I had him.

As I waited patiently, I noticed the woman driving the Yukon in front of me.
She was obviously not patient.
She was not saddened, or distraught.
She instead looked angry, bitter.
Those little tale-tell wrinkles on the forehead and around the mouth told on her displeasure.
She had to repeat her order through the speaker.
She repeated her words with disgust that you could almost see dripping out of the corners of her mouth.

I immediately began to pray, “Lord, I do not know what is going on with her.  But I lift her up to you.”

As she left the ordering board & speaker, I could hear her loud music thumping, and see her flicking cigarette ashes out the window.
Then, I heard her.  She wasn’t singing.  Instead, she was stating profanities.
Profanities at “not being able to deal with this stuff (I changed the words a little), I have to get to work!”
Profanities toward the server.
Profanities toward the person she didn’t know ahead of her who was apparently the wrong size for her liking and the wrong speed.
When she got to the window to receive her order, she forcefully handed the money over and did not wait for change before taking off.

I was just heartbroken.  I was heartbroken for the server who had to face this.  I was heartbroken for the car ahead of her, who had to see that impatient white bumper in her rear view mirror.  And I was heartbroken for the woman driving the Yukon.  “Lord, she doesn’t even know….” was all my head kept saying.

As I pulled up to the window to get my coffee, I told the server how sorry I was.  But I had an opportunity to share with the server how at first I was wishing I was ahead of the Yukon, so I could have paid for her order.  But if I was, I probably 1) wouldn’t have known this woman was so unhappy and 2) wouldn’t have made a difference in doing so.  God put me right where I needed to be.  My joy-filled moment of anticipating the treat of someone else’s coffee was placed exactly where it needed to be this morning.  I’m going to continue to pray for this woman today.  She doesn’t need to know I’m doing that, for it to impact her life.  I’m going to pray for the Holy Spirit to tug at her, to be a present thirst.  That extra extra sugar she ordered in her coffee isn’t going to satisfy her permanently.  I’m going to pray that she come to know joy, love.  And I’m going to continue to praise God for rescuing me from the driver’s seat of that Yukon, because I’m positive I’ve been there.  Maybe that’s why my heart breaks for this woman so.

Please join me in prayer over those who just don’t know, or don’t have the Joy present first and foremost in their lives.

27 Sep

Washing Machine Noise

Posted by Sherry in Not Food.

Mornings are crazy during the week.
Capital C  crazy.
Number one – I never get up in time, which leads to
Number two – The kids never get up in time
to have a peaceful morning of dressings, teeth-brushing, breakfasts, etc.
Never!
Despite all good intentions, the driveway doesn’t usually bid us farewell until we have a mere 11 minutes to get to the first school across town.  Whew!

Yesterday I was feeling brave, and decided to do a little laundry duty before heading out the door.
As I worked folding clothes straight from the dryer, over the hum, rattle and roll of the working washing machine, in my good-intentioned efforts to multitask, I asked my 9-year-old son a question.  He was in the kitchen scarfing down some cold cereal with milk, and I was at the other end of the house.  I did not go to him to ask, I just shouted over the noise, “Do you have your shoes on?”

That’s when, ever so gently, my Savior said to me, “Why do you ask questions when you have no intentions of listening for the answer?”

Whoa!  Did I do that, Jesus?  Did I ask a question that I really didn’t care to hear the answer to?  In my rush to get things done, I had asked simply for the purpose of pointing out something that my son needed to have done before we walked out the door.  But you know what?  I don’t know what his answer was.  It could have been yes, to which much praise should have been responded.  It could have been no, to which more encouragement could have been given.  Instead, I asked a question and didn’t follow-up or show care.  How many times do I do that, Lord, in my everyday?  I always say, “How are you?” to those I cross paths with.  How often do I really listen to the response?  How often do people I ask even give me a response?  Lord, how often do I do that to you?

This got me to thinking about all the washing machine noises that go on every day, all day long, that keep me from following through with good-intentioned things.  When I pick the kids up from school, and I ask, “How was your day?”, do they know I sincerely want to know how their day was…..or do they think I’m just going through the motions?  When I tell a friend I’ve been thinking about them and ask them how I can pray for them, do they take me seriously?  Do they see genuine concern in my question?  And most importantly, does God know I value His response to my questions?

Today I’m praying for the washing machine noises to be less so that I may be a better listener.  I don’t want to be distracted and miss the answers my kids give me, or my co-workers, or my friends from church…..I don’t want to miss anything that my Savior may be telling me.  Praise God I heard his voice above that washing machine yesterday!

21 Sep

Day 19

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , .

It has been 19 days since my oldest son left the country for a foreign land.

This didn’t “sneak up” on me.
He has been working toward this since he was 17 years old,
so I’ve had two years to prepare for where he is now….where I am.

He is well, and has no doubt he is doing what he was created for.
I have no doubt about that, either.
I’ve experienced such joy in hearing of his happiness…
in seeing his spiritual gift at work…
in knowing of the peace he has.

We have been able to speak very little since he’s been gone.
Where he is, there’s not a reliable internet connection.
I’ve not been able to receive emails from him.
We have, however, exchanged short instant message statements.
Little encouragements.

Tonight, he typed these words to me in a Skype message:

“I miss you ma.”

I replied right away with encouraging responses – staying upbeat, making sure the inflection in my type wouldn’t tell on the tears that were now streaming down my face.  Oh, how I miss him, too.

Then he said, “Tell me about your day.”

So I did.  I told him everything I could think of.  I didn’t wait for responses between statements.  I felt his need to connect with the everyday here at home, so I continued:

“Books A Million is closed.”
“Your brother was invited to join the Beta Club. He’s very excited!”
“Your other brother is doing well in school, too.”
“Your iguana misses you.”
“Richie across the street says to tell you he’s proud of you.”
“We spent Friday and Saturday nights with friends from church.”
“The family reunion is next weekend.”
“The kitten has learned to use the cat door.”
“Kevin is still working on the Jeep.”
“Today Kev had lunch with J Mc and Mike.”
“We went to support Rick last Friday, as he played at the coffee shop.”

For about 15 minutes, I shared various details with him, until he finally replied, “I think I’m going to hit the sack now.  I love you.”

When he was a baby, he could only get to sleep with rhythmic patting on his back.  I’m not talking some soft, gentle patting – he wanted to know you were there as he drifted off to sleep, and only a firm hand would do the trick.  And if you stopped just short of his dozing off, he’d let you know you needed to pat him on the back a little longer.  Tonight, my baby needed to know I was here.  I would type messages to him (pat him on the back) as long as he needed me to.
On this 19th day, I needed the confirmation just as much as my son did.

Praising God for this release and the closeness that was provided between a mother and her son, even though they are worlds apart right now. 

Our third day together.

18 Sep

The Blessing of A Kitten Named Turkey

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Meet Turkey.  She is the latest addition to our family.  How did we get her?  Turkey actually found us.  She was screaming (meowing) early one morning for us to let her in, so we did.  We were amazed right away by the mighty big voice she had for being such a tiny kitten.  It was obvious, upon first glance, that she was not someone’s pet.  Dirty, boney, flea-covered, and appearing to be missing an eye at first, we knew we couldn’t turn her back out onto the street.  So here we are, about 2 1/2 weeks later, and this tiny kitten has us smitten with her!

The Day She Found Us

Like any other healthy kitten, Turkey is rambunctious and busy every single second she is awake, but she is still a baby, so she has several catnaps a day and knows when it is bedtime for the rest of us.  Without being taught or encouraged, she’s learned to jump onto the foot of our bed as we’re turning in for the night. It’s a neat routine.  We get into bed.  Moments later, we can feel the tiny bounce of her massive 1.5 pound body, and she immediately turns on her purr.  When we call to her (“Turkey, good little Turkey, sweet kitty Turkey….”), she turns her purr up even louder.  And if we rub her beneath her chin, she purrs even louder still!  It’s funny, because when she’s running around the house all day, you won’t hear a purr out of her at all.  But at bedtime, in her contentment and seemingly gratitude, she offers us the warmth of her happiness through a purr. She appears to offer us “the purr” as a means of thanksgiving for taking her in.  For loving her. 

This past Tuesday, like most days as I’m driving to work, I was reflecting on the morning devotion and thinking about the scripture it was based upon.  Before I knew it, I was singing praises to our Saviour – belting it out! – unscripted words on paper, but definitely scripted in my heart.  Don’t you just love that when it happens?!  I was singing praises of thanks for the many, many blessings God has shown me, and for those that I knew He has in store for me yet to come.  Hallelujah, He knows my past, present and future!  As I was singing, I became aware of this warmth, building inside – almost as if some nurtured energy was about to unfold – like a daisy opening it’s petals beneath he morning’s early dew.  And as I continued to sing praises, that warmth became greater, and greater, until I was filled with such enormous joy!  Immediately, I began to think of Turkey, our newest feline family member, and an understanding of this joy came to me in the very simple, tangible definition of this tiny beast. Just as Turkey lands on the foot our our bed, offering her warm little purr that grows a little louder with some praiseful cooing, and then even louder with the anticipation of an outstretched hand coming toward her……..so was the warmth, the radiation of the Holy Spirit within me.  The more I praised, the more I poured my heart out in Thanksgiving, the more I could feel the love and satisfaction of my Father.  Thank you, thank you, sweet Lord for giving me a glimpse of  the happiness you must feel when we glorify you and praise your name, in terms that I can understand.  Thank you for showing me this…..yet another blessing!

So maybe not everyone would understand it if I compared the warmth of the Holy Spirit to the instinctive purr of a cat…..but that’s okay.  Our wonderful Saviour has showed me in a way he knows I can understand.  He will reveal things to you, too, in ways you can understand them best. Our Father knows each of us, loves each of us, and is ready to reveal things to you in your language – way you can understand.  All you have to do is believe with all your heart, and listen for his gentle way.    John 14:  16-17

2 Weeks After Finding Us

A blessing in the making:  The night Turkey found us, we were in the middle of singing praises to our Saviour, literally.  We were at a recording studio with our oldest son as he was working on the final tracks for a song titled “Magnify”.  It was when taking a donut break at 2:00am that Turkey came-a-callin’.  Praise God for all the blessings, big and small, known and yet to come!

Be magnified
As we sing your praise and lift your name
Up higher than the mountaintops you made

                                  Magnify
                                 (c) 2011 – D. Johnston 

12 Sep

My Basket

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , , .

It’s a big one.
Made out of some type of weave material native to the plantation area in the south.
And it’s elastic, of this I am sure, because it can stretch to hold a lot of junk.

It used to be really heavy when I first got it.  Sometimes, debilitatingly so.
Often times, it would slow my pace, or be so cumbersome, that it distracted me from other things.
And it used to be very important to me, too.
I would never leave home without it.
For that matter, I would never be home without it, either.
It used to hold a pretty prominent position, always close by my side, or in my lap.

I know this basket well – would recognize it anywhere.
Because it’s familiar, I sometimes feel comfort at the sheer recognition of it.
It’s no more than the comfort of habit, though, and it is only temporary.
I have spent a majority of my life toting it around.
It has been with me through so many turns.
For a long while, it seemed to be my only constant.
Through high school, college, broken relationships.
Through health issues.
Through the birth of three children, parenting.
Through all sorts of highs and lows, I’ve held onto it.

Now, it’s not nearly as heavy, although it hasn’t changed in shape or size.
I just don’t put that much junk in it anymore.
It doesn’t really slow my pace anymore, or distract me too often.
Sometimes, I don’t even notice it.
At home, I forget sometimes that I still have it.
When I leave, I forget sometimes to take it with me.

This is what happens when I let God have what’s inside the basket.
He takes that burden from me.
He eliminates the distraction of it’s contents.
He carries anything that is too much for me to handle.
He replaces it with peace, comfort and hope.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”   Philippians 4:6-7.

My basket is much less important to me than it used to be 20 years ago.
To be honest, it’s much less important to me than it was a year ago!
As my relationship with Christ grows stronger, my dependency on my basket diminishes.
Moving my focus toward faith, takes it away from things that are out of my control.

One of my favorite hymns is “Turn  Your Eyes Upon Jesus”.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in his wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.
In the light of his glory and grace.

I’m so thankful for the understanding and comfort that only my Savior can provide.
And thankful that he so willingly and lovingly takes my worries from me & empties my basket.

1 Peter 5:7

18 Aug

His Word Is Alive!

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , .

A few months back when I started this blog, my first post was the story behind the name, The Toenail.  I didn’t have scripture to back up what I was experiencing and longing for “in real life”, but I heard God’s message loud and clear:   We are all important to the Body of Christ.

Yesterday, several months after creating this blog, I came upon scripture that revealed this very same message.  How cool is that?  How I came across it is even “cooler”.  The devotion that I read (most every day) from our church referenced 1 Co 3:13.  Immediately desiring to see what the word had in store for me, I turned to Colossians 3:13.  This scripture reads:

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Then it continues in verse 14: “And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Hmmmm.  This is great scripture – and the subject of forgiveness is always a dear one for me – but it had absolutely nothing, from what I could tell, to do with the devotion I had just read.  Then I noticed that in my devotion book, the scripture had a “one” before the initials Co.  I didn’t have a first Colossians in my Bible.  I wondered why the devotion book had placed the “one” before the initials.  Not even thinking that I could be wrong, I asked my son about it.  I’m so glad he doesn’t judge me for not knowing the abbreviations for the books!  Apparently Co stands for Corinthians, of which there is a “one” and “two”, instead of for Colossians.  So next, I turned to the correct referenced scripture.  It reads:

“…his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”

Okay, this makes more sense with the devotion, which was about “doing what you’re supposed to do”.  Still, the conversation with my son continued, as we shared about different parts of 1 Corinthians that we have studied.  That’s when I came across the scripture – THE scripture! – the message God had so clearly revealed to me months earlier when I was doubting my significance in the Body of Christ.  1 Corinthians 12 verses 12 through 31 are so exciting to me!  It’s beautiful scripture.  Look it up!  I’m so thankful for God’s perfect timing in revealing things to us.  Had I been shown that scripture months ago, I may not have started this blog.  But because of my experience and wondering how God can use “little ole me”, He has shown me personally, allowing for the creation of this blog, and has now validated His message to me in scripture.  That is so cool!  His word is certainly alive!

14 Aug

Shark Teeth

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .




Beachcombing one Saturday morning on the shore of Topsail Island, I realized something pretty cool.  As I walked along the abundant crush of seashells and things, my son walked a few feet behind me, on the same path.  Every so often, he would say, “Hey mom, you missed this one!”, “I can’t believe you missed this one!”, or “Are you wearing your glasses, because you missed another good one?”.  NO, I  was not wearing my glasses, and I refuse to think that my 40+ years had anything to do with my overlooking the big ones. Then, clear as my vision is from behind those prescription glasses, I heard my Savior say:

“As you and your son are looking at the same sandy shell bed, searching for the same thing, you each find exactly what you were intended to find at exactly the right moment.”

Jump back!  What an awesome teacher our Savior is.  This is exactly how it is with His word!   We can read the same scripture or hear the same message and get completely different rewards from them.  Or, something that may speak to my heart with great significance or result in a clear understanding for me, may speak to your heart differently.  We see in the word what we were intended to see at exactly the moment we were intended to understand it.  Isn’t that cool!?  Have you ever been exposed to a particular scripture repeatedly before, but it never jumped out to you and stuck?  And then, one day, hear the same scripture and all of a sudden, you ‘see’ it for the first time?

Praise God for being with me on the beach that morning and revealing to me the significance of our different “eye sight”.

12 Aug

Stop, Drop and Pray

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

You’ve heard that saying before…”Stop, Drop and Roll”.  You may have learned it when you were very young, like I did in elementary school when the local firemen visited our classroom to teach us the importance of remembering this life saving phrase.  I didn’t really understand the importance of those words when I was younger, but the phrase was so catchy that I held on to it and gained a better knowledge of what it meant as I grew older.  Thankfully, I’ve never had to put the phrase into action, but I think I could if I was ever in a situation where it was needed.  Those firemen taught a fundamental lesson and did so very well.

God has been moving in my life, and things that I’ve been taught or heard over the years are coming to life left and right.  Praise God!  It’s like a light switch being turned on!  That’s how I woke this morning.  In the pitch dark of my bedroom, before I even opened my eyes, I was reflecting on and thanking God for all of the opportunities He’s given me recently, and that’s when it came to me – Stop, Drop and Pray.

Just yesterday, while standing in the parking lot of WalMart, I met a man.  I’m going to call him Mr. Calvary Baptist Church, because I can remember that instead of his name (I’m terrible with names, and I’m not in denial, but chances are if I’ve met you, you hold a special moniker, too).  I really thought, upon hearing this man’s voice across the way, that I knew him.  I really thought, upon seeing his profile, that I knew him.  Excited to share with him some good news, I grabbed a flyer to an upcoming event and called to him.  As he  came closer, I realized that I didn’t know him at all!  Wow!  That was a hearing AND sight blooper, but that’s another blog for another time.  Moving on.   This normally would have embarrassed me, but now, so many things that would have done that before just remind me it’s an opportunity.  Within moments of our introduction, I had made that statement we all hear so many times, “Will you pray for _________”.  You fill in the blank.  I’ve asked people to pray for my mother, our President, a stressful situation I was facing, a friend’s sick husband, for clarity…….and so on.  And without batting an eye, this man who I had only known for seconds, put his arm around my shoulder, and right there in the parking lot of WalMart, in the middle of the day, front and center to the entrance doors, he began to pray.

Stop, Drop and Pray.  STOP DROP AND PRAY!  I get it, Lord.  I hear you!  Why has it taken me so long to understand this?  I’ve been doing this recently, and didn’t even know I was doing what has been taught to me all these years – what I’ve seen around me.  Other people have prayed on the spot when I’ve asked for prayer, but yesterday’s opportunity connected the dots for me.  Instead of agreeing to pray for someone when they ask me to, at a later time, I am going to pray right away, with them, if I can.  There are so many needs, and so many things that need to be prayed over.  I’ve tried to put them aside oftentimes until they accumulate and I, within a structured timeframe, pause to remember the list and pray at a “more convenient time”, or a “more private time”.  There’s nothing wrong with that – God wants our prayer and our conversation always, in all ways.  But today, I wake with a desire to address prayer immediately…to slow down and bring things to God in real time…to stop putting prayer time in a box and keeping it closed….

Thank you, Mr. Calvary Baptist Church.  I wish I could tell you how much the opportunity to meet you yesterday has meant to me!  “Stop, Drop and Roll” may be a life-saving phrase, but “Stop, Drop and Pray” is a saved-life phrase.  Now I have to go put it into action!

13 Jul

It’s Personal!

Posted by Sherry in Not Food. Tagged: , , , , , .

Who is Jesus Christ to you?

I’ve heard this question asked before.  I’ve listened to a multitude of responses.  Yes, He’s the Holy One, the Mighty Father… Counselor, Confidante and Corrector always.   He’s the Alpha, the Omega – the A to the Z.  The Omnipresent.  He’s called by so many dear, wonderful, descriptive names.

So who is Jesus Christ to me?  It’s personal.  I mean, really and truly, deep down and inside out, completely personal.  Jesus Christ is my best friend.  He calls me by name, and I call Him by His.  I don’t have to talk with Him through others.  He is in the front row, seat one.  I have access to Him all the time and desire Him to have access to me all the time.  I’m working on that!  As I grow in my relationship with Him, I desire to be more like Him.  I find  “including Him” in my daily walk to be more a recognition of Him “including me” in His.  He doesn’t just think of me sometimes, He thinks of me always, and always has.  Before, Now and in the Future, Christ thinks of me!  This is no one-sided relationship.  And it’s not an exclusive-to-me relationship.  Jesus Christ loves you and you and you and you…….and He longs to have a personal relationship with you, too.  He is mighty, indeed, but not in an intangible way.  Jesus Christ is very real and very present.  He is very personal!

Recently I met a couple of people who have not been called by their first names in a very long time.  They refer to themselves by title or last name or both, but not by first name.  In their friendships, they use their titles or last names.  Never their first names.  Even the mother of one doesn’t refer to her child by first name!  This made me sad.  I couldn’t help but think of my own family – my mom – and wondered how weird it would be for her to call me by some title, or by my last name.    My relationship with my mother – with my family – with my friends – it’s personal.  Why would I ask to be called by anything other than my name?  Then I started thinking about our Heavenly Father.  He calls me by name, too, and it is very personal.  We are family, and I can’t imagine it being any other way!

I’m so thankful for Jesus Christ, and that he calls me His. There’s a comfort that comes with being referred to by name.  His. I’m His!  And that is very personal!

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