Things That Go Bump in the Night

You may or may not have heard that on February 3rd a British and a French ballistic missile submarines bumped into each other. To be fair, they are both the first in the ballistic missile class for these two countries, so maybe they are working on the kinks and decided to play bumper submarine. Next time guys, let's do it without the ballistic missiles and nuclear reactors. You gave a scare to neighboring countries and to the dolphins.

Or course, we could always blame the Germans for this:

You Can't Hurry Love/No, You Just Have to Wait

Name that song!

This morning, I had the opportunity to spend time with very special ladies at a senior living home in Alexandria. About 8-10 women from Frontline/McLean Bible Church hosted Pretty & Polished and treated each lady with a manicure. As an extra treat, we had two gorgeous flower pots that the ladies had an opportunity to win through a drawing.

I was deeply humbled and moved by the selflessness and love of these women. Many of them, including one of my women, Blanche told me, "No that's ok honey. I want someone to win those lovely flowers-- someone that will tend to them and help them grow."

W o w .

Then it occurred to me.

Dating is like a delicate flower. As Blanche realized with flowers-- dating comes with responsibilities.

I admit: I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day-- not because I'm a cynic-- quite the opposite. I'm too much of a hopeless romantic for Valentine's Day-- I find random, unpredictable expressions of love so much better than the obligatory flowers/chocolate/date on Valentine's Day.

The past two weeks at church, we've done a series called Dismantle/Repair. John McGowan put the series together to do what the title says-- Dismantle what our culture says about dating and Repair with the truth of the Bible.

Ambitious, right? Especially since the word "dating" is never actually mentioned in the Bible.

So how does God want us to approach dating?

Instead of approaching dating as a trial and error process (you aren't buying a car or new pair of shoes!)-- we are called to set our hearts and minds on the Lord first-- let's refer to Colossians 3: 1-3,

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

It stands out that we are to set our hearts and minds on God-- and not things of this earth. To be in friendship with the world is adulterous to the Lord because we are first and foremost married to the Lord when we become Believers.

So does the Lord not want us to marry? Not necessarily-- but He has a plan for how we seek a spouse.

1.) Become: Take the time to become the right person.

Psalm 26:1-3,
"Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."

2.) Develop: Take time to develop and grow Godly priorities.

Think differently (God's way!) for what you're looking for in a boyfriend/girlfriend-- Romans 12:2,

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Where is "Follower of Jesus" on your "list"? Be honest with yourself.

3.) Establish: Take time to build a solid Christ centered relationship.

Perhaps one of the hardest things in Christian dating-- spiritual connectedness-- or being equally yoked together, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16a tells us,

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in com

mon with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God."

Most of the above comes from John McGowan's first message on dating, so I don't claim credit for those ideas all strung together. But the Lord placed many of the pieces of John's message on my heart over the past year and challenged me to re-evaluate the way I approach dating. Submitting to the Lord's will is a matter of pride for me but in it, I find freedom and joy.

Fate of the Strawberry Chocolate Phone

Until a few weeks ago, I owned and used (frequently!) Verizon's Strawberry Chocolate phone. When it first came out, I had to have it-- it was pink, cute and only available online. So I bought it. Without really considering professional world-- I quickly learned: a bright pink phone gets a lot of looks, especially when working in a field dominated by men (military, former military and union leaders). To say the least, I felt out of place taking my bright pink phone on meetings.

So I ditched it. And I am now the proud owner of a non-pink, silver phone.

I decided, some other girl should have the joy of a pink phone, so I passed it on to Sofie-- an adorable 5 year-old that loves tons icing on cookies. She has a sweet tooth, nothin' wrong with that :) She adopted my Strawberry Chocolate phone.

I received this thank you note the next day-- and found out that we share more than a sweet tooth:



Yes-- like me-- she enjoys taking pictures!

I am elated. I may not be able to carry that cute little phone around anymore, but I know that it is in a happy home.

Walk Like a Potato

Have you seen these plastic wrapped potatoes?


Apparently, you can buy these at your local grocery store, pop them in the microwave for 7 minutes and BAM! Perfectly cooked potato. Amazing.

What is more amazing-- have you ever noticed how potatoes continue to grow and sprout even after pulled out of the ground? How do you explain this? They aren't receiving any outside nutrients, but on their own, they grow "eyes". Amazing, again.

(Sidenote: I wish the flowers I buy would do this!)

Often, we are like potatoes.

(Huh? What, Kim is saying that I am a potato now?!)

Yes, a potato-- not Mr. Potato Head-- though he is cool and provides endless hours of entertainment.

But often God pulls out of our rich soil-- our family, job, home, our Christian community-- anything that we cling to that isn't the Lord-- and He places us elsewhere to continue our growth in Him.

Let's look to James 1: 2-5 (NIV),

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

When He pulls us out of our rich soil, it may often be in the form of a trial. He does this-- not because he is trying to be mean, but because He loves us. His love is so great that He wants us to mature in our walk with Him-- learn to rely only on Him-- and move closer to His righteousness.

So---Embrace your time out of the soil, potato :)

Pass the popcorn and the raisinets!

Last night, I went with a bunch of other wonderful women to see He's Just Not That Into You. The movie was sold out and packed full of groups of giggly women-- RP and EM commented that it was a "great big slumber party." Lot's of estrogen in one room.

Before I give my thoughts on the movie-- I should tell-- this morning, I woke up and watched FireProof while doing laundry and cleaning. My intention was to just have it on in the background as I cleaned, but I found myself fascinated by the movie and less interested in checking things off my list. I had low expectations for the movie, but came out pleasantly surprised.

I was disappointed with He's Just Not That Into You. I didn't like the women compromising themselves and things working out happily in the end-- to all those women in the theater-- I think it sent the wrong message. I am referring mostly to the Jennifer Anniston character and Ben Afflect. They play a couple that has dated for 7 years, Anniston finally asks if Afflect intends to marry her and he tells her he has no intention of ever marrying because he doesn't believe in marriage. Drama occurs-- they break up, she misses him, she tells him it doesn't matter if they ever get married because she just wants to be with him, he moves back in....and Hollywood twist: he proposes.

Really? So now, many of the women watching can think, "So if I am patient, give him what he wants, he will eventually come around!"

Now turn to FireProof. Caleb and Catherine are a very unhappily married couple-- they decide to get divorced. Caleb's father steps in and challenges his son to a 40 day dare. Caleb accepts because he loves his father and starts the challenge. Halfway through, Caleb becomes a Christ follower-- and that's when the changes really begin to occur. I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you because this is one that you should really see yourself.

I liked the way FireProof put the work on the man-- not the woman. Too many movies show the woman working to grow but not the man. I like that is showed the man leading. I blame a lot of this on our culture-- and it reminds me of the message from church this past week-- I definitely encourage you to listen: Dismantle/Repair by John McGowan at Frontline Arlington.

You can listen to it online or podcast it to your Ipod/MP3 player.

Have a wonderful Saturday--- and now back to my cleaning! :)

To fear or not to fear?

In his inaugural speech, President Obama, before thousands on the National Mall and many more on their televisions, said:

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

Watching him give his speech, I remember wincing at the "hope over fear" reference-- feeling that in some way it was a dig at the Bush Administration-- they were mercilessly criticized for fear mongering the American people into war. But another part of me thought, "Give him a chance, hope is good."

But for the past two days, this is the new strategy of the President:

In order to push the stimulus package, which most agree won't actually stimulate anything except egos, the President has resorted to the fear that he only a couple weeks ago proclaimed hope had triumphed over.

The DC-Metro area is largely insulated from the realities impacting so many other American communities. But even then, I could name at least 10 people that I know have lost their jobs or their parents have lots their job-- in turn, this has made me think:

What would I do if I lost me job? Would I panic? Would I have enough saved up to get by? How would I make my bills?

But what I think about the most, "Where is the Lord calling me if I lost me job?"

God uses situations to speak loudly and clearly to us-- I know because I've experienced it in my own life. When it seems that everything is a mess, I know the Lord is just working harder to mold me because,

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)

God is our Perfect Love-- putting our trust and hope in Him drives out ALL our fears. Look to Him for your security.

And when I feel myself wavering, I am comforted by this verse (yellow post-it on my computer! gotta love post-its!) :

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14)

Would you like a slice of stimulus package?

Yes that’s me with former Secretary of Treasury, Hank Paulson back in October. Flying in and out of Reagan National airport, it’s pretty likely that you’ll run into “Washington Celebrities”—politicians/newsmakers/personalities that only addicted readers of FoxNews or Drudge would recognize. You won’t find them in the latest update of Perez Hilton and they usually wear black/red/blue regardless of the season.

Well a couple weeks after my rendezvous with Paulson, I run into Brit Hume (AMAZING) at Reagan National. I was even more excited for this DC celeb. He happily took a pic with me, and I told him about my run in with Paulson:



Me: Last time I was here, I met Sec Paulson.
Brit: Oh yeah? You shoulda asked him for a bailout.
Me: He could bail me out of my student loans!
Brit: If you were a lobbyist, I bet he would have!

So after admiring our pic together and calling at least 5 friends to tell them about my exciting encounter (and explaining who Brit Hume is…)--- I got to thinkin’….

Everyone wants a bailout or a slice of the economic stimulus package currently being discussed in Congress. As soon as the new Congress began, a sea of lobbyists descended upon Washington— white papers written, letters inked and talk sheets memorized about why the government should invest in their company or industry.

Why? Because something for “free” is attractive. And if they don’t go get a piece of the cake, then someone else will and they will be at a business disadvantage.

And as I watch the chaos ensue on Capitol Hill and read about the details on the front page of the Wall Street Journal of how the Congress and the Administration is working to “be fair” and distribute the dollars evenly…I know that not everyone will get something. Some will go home empty handed. No room on the playground for them.

But in God’s love--- guess what—there is more then enough to go around. No one goes home empty handed.

Let’s look first to Isaiah 53: 5-6 (NLT):

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

And now, turn to 1 John 4: 9-10 (NIV):

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

God sent His one and only Son as a sacrifice for us—this is a free bailout—a stimulus package for ALL.