On Lifestyles and Birthday Parties

Sometimes the things I see weigh heavily on my heart.

First the background to the topic... One of my jobs is assistant to a caricaturist. We do parties where she sits and draws caricatures of the party guests, and I keep a list of people waiting for their picture, make sure things stay organized, put the drawings in sleeves, and generally keep the chaos to a minimum. Which is all very well and good - but it allows me plenty of time to observe and contemplate the people around me.

This particular birthday party was in Newport Beach, California. Oh yes. Ritzy City, indeed. Just booking the party at the lagoon probably cost as much as a couple of my paychecks. About 80 children attended, including their parents, and all were fed bountifully. Plenty of food was available, plus 4 cakes and a lot of cupcakes, plus people from Ben and Jerry's serving ice cream and toppings (so good!), plus people making and serving crepes (also very good!). Activities included us (the caricaturists), three people organizing parties, a truck from a local aquarium with fish displays inside, and an inflatable velcro wall -- as well as the lagoon water to play in. In other words, they probably sunk an easy several thousand dollars into this party.

It was a birthday party for a six-year-old boy.

Can anyone say priorities? Years from now the kid won't remember the party. The 80 kids who were there probably won't remember the party. And, if the birthday boy is even friends with all 80 of the young guests, they will probably no longer even be friends in a matter of years. Basically the whole thing was a carefree day of sweets and playtime for the kids, and social time for the adults. Because we all know a party of this caliber was hardly about the child.

Look around.

People in some countries are dying because of the lack of clean water.

People in some countries are living in cardboard boxes in the dump because they have no houses.

People in some places lack things we take for granted - hospitals, church buildings, means of education, daily food.

People here in America have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet, to buy groceries and pay basic bills.

there's nothing wrong with a birthday party, that's not the problem. Priorities of spending is the problem.

Don't misunderstand me...I'm not judging here, I'm no better than anyone else.

But to much of the world...I am rich. I have more than one pair of shoes, a bed with blankets, and more food than I could eat in one day. I worked three jobs yesterday because I can and because I have committed to doing so, not because I am trying desperately to survive and support my loved ones. Today I went to church and worshiped freely with other believers, with a roof over our heads and no fear of persecution.

It's not up to me to draw the conclusions here. There really is no conclusion - except that each person does what is right in their own conscience before God.

These things weigh heavily on my heart.

Those Days

You know those days when you can't do anything right?

Yeah. It's been one of those days.

And in the middle of it, the Father puts His huge loving arms around me and whispers, "My child, I love you. Give up the frustration, learn from your mistakes, and trust Me for the outcome."

And my weak human heart cries, "Oh Father...why? Why do I make mistakes? Why do I have days like this?"

To which He still more lovingly replies, "Because you're human, and I'm in charge. Trust Me."

And so, with trust and forgiveness and love and a few hugs, all is right with the world...except that the day is not yet over.

Who Am I?

A few years ago, I kept a blog called Cowgirl For Jesus. I eventually abandoned that blog in favor of Facebook, but now, like many of my friends, I find myself returning to blogging...it's like the sea, it gets in your blood and you can't leave it! :P

I'm not yet sure what I want to accomplish with this blog, except maybe to express myself in more than 420 characters or less...not to say that I am leaving Facebook by any means, but simply that I want a broader canvas on which to display the work of art God is creating in my life. And so this blog is focused on Him, not on me. As the Casting Crowns' song Who Am I says so aptly, "Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done; not because of what I've done, but because of who You are."

The Lord is doing some amazing things in my life right now -- I can't even begin to express how blown away I am, time and time again, as He gives me glimpses of His will for my life. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." In another translation this becomes, "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" While this verse may be slightly taken out of context, it is clear that the Lord has our future in His hands. Other scriptures that reinforce this include Psalm 40:5 "Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered," and Psalm 139:17 "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!" What a concept! The God who created everything, who rules and reigns over all creation, who makes the moon reflect the sun -- He thinks of me! He is intimately acquainted with my life, knows the hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30), and cares about everything in my life. And yet it is so easy to be like the person described in Psalm 10:4 "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." Oh how easily we fall into this sin! In the rush and busyness of the day, the still small voice is lost in the clamor of everything else vying for my attention...and suddenly the day is over, and I reflect and ask whether my life has glorified God in that day. I yearn to say confidently that my days do glorify God, and yet I know in the weakness of my flesh this is not always the case. Lord forgive me...the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

And so I intend to use this blog to chronicle some of the plans God has for my future. It will be an adventure, watching Him reveal each step in its time. I have been following a devotional by Stormy Omartian called Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On, which has helped me understand that God does not give us the future laid out ahead of time, but instead shows us each step one at a time, guiding us and asking us to step out in faith and trust Him. And as I grow in that faith and trust, I am blessed beyond what I could have imagined!

Not every post here will be this serious or thought-provoking -- many will be just for fun :) But in all, I will strive to glorify God in my thoughts, words, and actions, and I ask the same from you. Will you join me?