The Look

Chances are, if you are like me, you have mastered "the look." No, I'm not talking fashion here. I mean "the look" you give your kids as a warning.

Before my kids do something they aren't supposed to do, they glance over at me, to see if I'm watching. Then I flash them "the look." For me, the look is eyebrows up, mouth straight and tight, eyes bulge slightly. The look says "I see you, don't do it!" They quickly return to doing good and don't get into trouble.

I wonder if God has "the look." How many times before I get into trouble, does God flash me the look saying, "I see you, don't do it." Before I say something about someone I shouldn't...the look. Before I fly off the handle yelling at my kids for some minor offense...the look. Before I tell my husband what he did wrong in my oh, so superior tone of voice...the look.

How come the look works on my kids, but not on me? One key reason. Before my kids do wrong, they look to me. If, before I was about to mess up, I would simply look to my Father, to God, then I might see the look. I might hear the warning. I might not mess up. The answer is clear. I need to change my focus, and keep my eyes on God. I need to look.

Hebrews 12:2 -- Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Don't Be An Ass

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.  In Matthew 21, we see the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey colt. As he rode into town, the people threw down palm branches and shouted praises.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Matthew 21:8,9

Imagine if the donkey had any level of intellect to understand what was going on. Here he is riding through town with people shouting praises. Would he have thought the praises were for him? After all, he was the one doing all the work. Jesus was simply riding. The donkey was the one walking and carrying Jesus. The palm branches were thrown on the ground. Would he have thought they were protecting his steps? Honoring him? It's crazy to even imagine it, isn't it?

Yet, how often do we do the same thing? Maybe we're volunteering at church; singing for the praise team or choir, going on a mission, donating to a food pantry, or writing a devotion. When people offer praise, do we think they're praising us? We're the ones that did the work, aren't we?

Or, isn't it more that we are just doing what Jesus asked us to do, like the donkey. Jesus is the one that should be receiving the honor and glory. Not us. The donkey simply had the honor of carrying the Messiah, and while it was an honor for the donkey to do so, the Messiah was the ONLY one who deserved the praises.

So the next time you do something at church or as a mission, and someone tells you "Great job," remember who is holding the reins. Don't be confused. It is an honor to do work for Jesus, but we aren't the ones who deserve the honor. Don't act like the donkey, don't be an ass.

All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." Matthew 21:4,5 KJV

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

This post is an encore of last year's Palm Sunday post.

TGIF

"Thank God it's Friday!" According to Wikipedia this is a common U.S. expression of relief at the end of the work week and anticipation of  the weekend. It has come to have little meaning other than "I'm glad it's Friday!" or "It's the weekend, let's party."

Take a closer look. It says THANK GOD it's Friday. Have you ever literally thanked God for your Friday?Why not pray to God right now praising him for today...and then if someone says to you "Thank God it's Friday" you can say "I already did!"

Isn't it ironic how we take sayings such as this for granted? Our money is printed with the phrase "In God We Trust." Do we? Economic times are hard right now, when you are paying your bills are you saying "God I trust you" or just "Oh my god."

The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a popular military anthem. We sing, "His truth is marching on." That line is referring to God. It says HIS truth is marking on. Is it? Are we marching in the truth, passing it on? One of the verses says:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

It is suggested that if you are not military you change the lyrics from "let us die to make men free" to "let us LIVE to make men free."

I hope I am living to make men and women free. Free to live a life for Jesus, to praise him and thank him in all things.

Thank you God, it's Friday! 

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

God Picked You!

I didn't get the job. And at the time to my 24 year old self,  it seemed earth shattering. Another rejection. I did get a lovely rejection letter, but I was still rejected.

Then almost one year later I got another letter. The person hired for the job didn't work out, and would I consider interviewing again.  I would, and I did, and I got the job! I worked at that job until the birth of my first child. I also learned a valuable lesson.

I didn't get that job, but I was in fact the best person for the job.  The employer selected the older candidate, because she had more experience than 24 year old me. But she didn't last a year.  I was the best person for the job. But I still wasn't initially picked.  Because that employer wasn't God. He made mistakes.

We will get rejected in life. Sometimes even when we don't deserve it. Truly, we aren't always the best person for the job, but even if we are that is no guarantee. There is only one guarantee in life, and that is that God picked you! He picked you! He loves you and wants you to be His. In God's family you are never second best. You are never over looked. You are never left behind. God picked you. 

I didn't have to take that job when I was offered it, but I did, and it was a good decision. You don't have to take God's offer either. But if you do, I can assure you it will be a good decision. God picked you. Now pick him back!  It's not just a good decision. It is a match made in heaven.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Mices, Lices and Vices

Mouse poop could only mean one thing.  We had mice.  And of course I didn’t want anyone to know. What would people think if they knew I had mice?  Would they think I had a dirty house?

A visit from the exterminator helped the problem.  We had an opening in the garage that allowed the mice to gain entrance into the house.  Once we plugged up the opening, the problem was solved. No more mice.

Several months later I received a phone call that no mom wants to receive. “My daughter had such a fun play date at your house earlier this week.  You know they played hairdresser? I found out my daughter has lice and probably gave it to your daughter.  You better check her.”  What? Sure enough, my daughter caught head lice.

And of course I didn’t want anyone to know. What would people think if they knew my child had head lice?  Would they think my child was dirty?

A call to the pediatrician helped the problem.  Lice actually prefer clean hair. And with the window of opportunity open (a shared hairbrush), they easily entered my daughter’s scalp.  Once they were there they were not easy to get rid of.  It took lots hard work.

After the lice incident, I forwarded a funny blog post I’d found on head lice to the mom of the other girl.  The post was laced with profanity, and we were both Christians.  But I found the post amusing, so I joked, “I think profanity is allowed in cases of head lice.”

The mom responded to my email.  “It was cute but no swearing - that means Satan has a hold of my mouth/heart” Then, as if to soften the blow she added, “Trust me I have plenty of other vices.”

Vices? It’s embarrassing enough to have mice or lice.  But now someone knows about my vice! Of course I don’t want anyone to know.  What would people think if they knew about my vices?  Would they think I had a dirty mind?

Like with the mice, an opening allowed sin in my heart.  Like with lice, an opportunity (such as a bad attitude) allowed the vice to easily enter my heart.  And as in both situations, vices are not easy to get rid of! It requires lots of hard work.

In this case, we need to focus on God. We need to pray for forgiveness for the vice.  We need to find Bible verse to support us.  Finally, we can enlist the help of an accountability partner.  Like the exterminator or pediatrician, having another person involved can help keep us on the right track and encourage us.

Whether you have mices, lices or vices, I encourage you today not to feel overwhelmed, or concerned about what others might think. Instead focus on getting rid of your problem, and enlisting the help of a support system.  

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

The Prayer Chair

One of the things I loved about our home when we moved in nearly 16 years ago, was the large size of the bedroom. There was plenty of room for me to make a little prayer corner for myself.  First I needed the perfect chair. I quickly found the chair I liked. It was beautiful and went perfectly with the decor in the bedroom. I bought a matching footstool that could be used as a side table to hold my Bible and coffee mug when I wasn't using them, and I could prop my feet up when I was. It looked beautiful!

The problem was, I never actually used the prayer chair.  Oh, it looked pretty in the room, but I really didn't go up to my bedroom often during the day.  It seemed like an out of place location.  Finally, one day I decided I would use my prayer chair.  I sat in it and tried to make myself comfortable to pray.  The problem was the chair wasn't comfortable.  As a matter fact, when I settle back and laid my head back to pray the wood trim actually hurt. What looked pretty on the outside was actually uncomfortable and almost painful.

Our prayer life can be like that chair.  It may look good on the outside. You know, when we pray in groups of Bible study, our flowery beautiful prayers sound great and look great in the setting.  But when we're home, we sometimes don't really get around to pray.  And when we do, our prayers can be uncomfortable or even painful at time. It can feel awkward to pray if we haven't worked on building that relationship with God.

God doesn't want flowery, public prayers. He wants us to be comfortable with him! He wants a relationship, where we can be our self and share our hearts.  Now my prayer chair is in the family room.  The recliner is overstuffed, and comfortable, and because it's in the family room, I'm there often, reminding me to pray.  The more I pray the more comfortable I get in my prayer life as well.  The old recliner may not be as pretty as the other chair, as a matter of fact, it's wearing out in some places. But that's okay.  

Because chairs and prayers share something important. It's not how they look on the outside, it's how they feel on the inside that matter.

(Jesus said,) “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Matthew 6:5-7

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Is God your Sponsor or Crew Chief?

"Lord, none of this would be possible without you," the man prayed during Sunday services.  My 12 year old leaned over and whispered, "That sounds like a commercial, 'This wouldn't be possible without our sponsor.'"  Her words got me thinking. How often do we treat God like our sponsor?

If you've ever watched NASCAR racing, at the end of every race the winning driver thanks his sponsor,  "This wouldn't be possible without the support of XYZ."  But believe me, they don't let their sponsor tell them how to race.  For that they have their crew chief.  

The crew chief is continuously available via radio contact with the driver and the driver follows all the directions from the chief. From his position the crew chief can see everything that is going on.  He warns the driver of danger ahead, encourages him through hard turns in the track, and instructs him when to make pit stops.  The sponsor simply gives money and let's the team do what they want, as long as they give the sponsor credit when they win.

In life, God wants to be our crew chief. He is always available through prayer contact to give us directions; warning us of dangers, encouraging us through hard times, and instructing us. He is our Crew Chief, not our sponsor. He doesn't want us to just thank him and give him credit when we do well. He wants to be involved in the decision making, to have an active part in the race of our life.

How are you running your race? Let God be your crew chief, not just your sponsor. A sponsor may be nice to have when life is going great.  But it's the crew chief who is with you not only in the winner's circle, but also in the pits.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com