Author: Lori Lawe

The Best Christmas Was The Most Painful Christmas

/ Lori Lawe / 3 Comments

I held my head in my hands, the non-physical pain consuming me, twisting my body to reflect my inner state.

The mother placed the baby in my arms and spoke of WHEN I took her home, enveloped her in our family. This baby was the gift that came no less miraculously than a child that emerges, astonishingly from one’s own womb. Except she traversed from God, through another’s womb, through the arms of another mother, into my arms.

And like a child ripped from her mother’s arms, she was taken from my arms and placed in another home.

We were pleased that the child would be taken care of, her needs met, thrive in a loving home.

And yet the pain in our hearts was only partially placated.

Every human soul carries its own pain within.

A loved one passes, an illness, a broken relationship, broken dreams, general ennui, desperation, hopelessness, despair. . . The waves of trouble that break over the human soul break us too, as our souls hit the rocks, making us bleed from the trials that have arrived on our doorstep, unbidden.

We open the door to today and the tidal wave of disappointment has arrived. We are left sitting on the floor alone in our world, unable to stand.

As we look around for a hand to help us up, something to hold onto, it seems hope is a long way away sometimes.

Can you see it?

I couldn’t either.

And then Christmas knocks on our door with the request to give to the needy, to distract ourselves with shallow merrymaking, to make ourselves sick with food that is sweet in the mouth and cancerous to the bones.

“Is this all there is?” we ask, our Santa hats adorning our heads in an effort to embrace the spirit of the season, our TV remote flipping from channel to channel, waxed chocolate at the fingertips.

Numb, again.

Another Christmas season has arrived, and we are numb.

No!

The old life is gone; a new life emerges!

The Message

That Christmas, the one when I could hardly breathe, I took off the old.

I crossed off the list of people that we were “supposed” to buy presents for. No more presents for friends, friend’s kids, extended family, parents, grandparents, my spouse. “And no presents for me,” I announced. We bought a few small gifts for a few children. And joy returned.

I crossed off the list the duty to make the Christmas treats I made every year, unthinkingly. I tried a few simple treats with a healthier spin. And joy returned.

I left the box of Christmas decorations in the basement unopened. When I finally gazed inside, I pulled out a few items that were handmade by friends or had sparked a particular delight, or a cherished memory. And joy returned.

I said no to every party, to the ones we were expected to attend that were too loud, had too much drinking, and too much shallow joy. We had a couple of quiet celebrations with a handful of friends or family, and good food. And joy returned.

No more expectations. The old has gone.

And the new life emerging?

And like the caterpillar that makes time for the quiet of the chrysalis, we too made time for the quiet.

– Time in the quiet morning hours, seeking my King

– Time for Christmas church services, as we sought to awaken our senses to the awe of the season through the life of the babe in a manger

– Time for a hug or a smile or an understanding look, more, more often from those around me

I spent time every evening that season with our little toddler at the outdoor skating rink. The one that is free.

When we fell, we would laugh and then sit quietly together for a moment noticing how the lights rimmed the rink, peering through the darkness. I could almost discern the light of the season through those lights.

And like the lights shining in the darkness, at the skating rink that is free, His free gift of love burst through my heart a little more often in the quiet mornings, in the moments of quiet at the worship services, in the quiet smiles of those whose lives I stumbled across.

And each smile was like gazing into another’s soul because I took the extra moment to see them, to know that they too, being human, have heart wounds. Can my smile, my love, be a drop of healing ointment to them, as theirs is to me?

And it was the best Christmas of my life.

As the song plays, consider asking God: How can any anticipated pain of this Christmas season be transformed into joy?

How To Find What You’re Looking For This Christmas

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

I was looking around for something. It was dark. I grasped the floor trying to find some unseen object. I couldn’t remember what I was looking for, but I knew it was on the floor, not far away. If I could only pick it up! I was crying. “Where are you?” I wondered.

Then I brushed up against something, the finger of God. I tried to grasp it but went in the wrong direction by mistake and lost my sense of where it was again. But now my heart was beating with hope. The tears stopped flowing, just a riverbed of dry tears streaming down my face, now.

“Where are you, God?” I called out. Hope filled my heart. He was just here. I spent the rest of the morning on my hands and knees, groping at the floor, seeking the hand of Jesus. I know He’s close!

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

Ancient Text

Sunrise came and I hadn’t touched the hand of God again, yet hope buoyed my heart.

I had enough strength for the day, enough love to pour out on my children, enough forgiveness for the ones whose lives bumped against mine, their prickles and mine poking each other. Joy, tantalizingly close, but not grasped and put into my heart, lifted my spirits.

The hints of the divine are left for us, like the odd jewel on a stone path, covered in dust and scratched up, half hiding in the path, from the boots of so many who have trampled it. Will we notice it, wonder at the gleam of . . . is that a tinge of purple? Will we pick it up, polish it off, put it in our pocket to wonder at later?

If we do, the weight and purity of this jewel will begin to eat away at our pockets, at every impure thing it touches. It demands to be held up and admired. If we fail to do this, it burns away at the fabric of our pockets and drops back to the ground, awaiting the next traveller.

Do we give the divine the attention and the focus it demands? Or have we lost yet another opportunity, the hint of holiness falling back to earth – gone from our hearts?

“I think I found a jewel once,” we tell each other, but that seems so long ago, another lifetime ago. We inspect our pockets and they are singed where the jewel was, where we think we put it. Could it be?

“No. It must be a coincidence,” we think.

We will wait for another clue.

So we travel the dusty path of life, stepping on jewel after dusty jewel. Our hearts have grown harder and so our eyes have lost the spark of wonder that makes them truly able to see that which is not there, yet. The potential of a hidden jewel, on the ground, trampled, is not what we are looking for anymore. We have become blind.

And it is Christmas that awakens our hearts a little if we let it.

Christmas is the alarm clock in our hearts that rings and . . . will we answer the call, or press snooze, again?

Will we get out of bed, warm feet on cold floor, groggily seeking a coffee, and God?

Will we hope once more, that in the dark, early mornings of this advent season, as we cry out to God, the one we have forgotten, tears streaming our faces, we can find a glimmer of hope that we WILL see the shadow across His face, the brush of His finger, emanating so much love from His pinky finger that our entire hearts are strengthened for a week?

Will we find a glimmer of light, like a light switched on and then off again so that we wonder if there was even a light? Will this light give an unction to our souls to seek again, to get up early again, to look closely at the jewels in life that we almost trampled again?

Will we find the path that leads us to the heart of God, this season?

May your heart be soft friend, so that the seed of God will find a healthy place to grow. And may the tree that grows from within your heart produce fruit that nourishes your deepest longings, the ones you forgot you even had, so often had you pushed them back down to the depths of the soul, under distraction.

May we put away the phones, the shopping, the joyful merrymaking and wake up early, to spend the quietness of dawn with the One we are seeking.

And may the life within the little town of Bethlehem be born in your heart this season, friend.

The Best Way To Live – Don’t Try So Hard

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Sometimes we try too hard as we journey through life. Ironically when we don’t try as hard, our lives often improve.

For example, we all realize by now, I’m sure, that a good life consists of:

1) Beautiful hair,

2) Productive work, and

3) Healthy desires.

(Yes, this is a list curated from my own, personal experience. Why do you ask?)

To expound:

1) Like most things in life, it all boils down to having nice hair, really.

When I was camping, my hair looked better than it usually did. I didn’t fuss with it. I jumped in the lake a lot and this made my hair more curly.

And who doesn’t want curly hair? Yes, I know the women who have curly hair don’t want curly hair, and the women who have straight hair don’t want straight hair.

So as you can tell, I usually have straight hair.

We are all messed up, really.

Just pretend you’re well-adjusted to get the point of this blogpost.

A good life is sometimes upside down. Less frantic mouse on a wheel constant “doing”, less meeting our own expectations, is sometimes more soaring.

2) This brings me to my next point – a good life consists of productive work.

You’d think that the longer we work, the more productive we’d be. And yet study after study indicates the opposite. In fact, working long hours makes us less productive overall. For example – this research.

This study just proves the first point I made about hair. Don’t try so hard, and often we’ll do better at life!

3) This brings me to my third point, the most complex of them all – a good life is fuelled by healthy desires.

I often drive myself, with a whip and self-help books, to chase my desires.

I would be the queen of self-help, and self-help would be my religion if Jesus wasn’t on the throne of my life (Thankfully).

I have bowed down to the queen of my own expectations (i.e. Therefore to me) enough to know that I am a brutal master.

My own expectations remain tantalizingly out of reach, no matter how much I serve to please my expectations, spoken forth by Queen “me”.

Get me off the throne of my life!

Why? Because my desires are often wrong. I often start the game chasing after the wrong goal.

Tragically, we continue to chase after our desires ad infinitum. The result? A chronic state of restlessness or, worse, angst, anger, anxiety, disillusionment, depression—all of which lead to a life of hurry, a life of busyness, overload, shopping, materialism, careerism, a life of more…which in turn makes us even more restless. And the cycle spirals out of control.

John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

And so, in summary, as we can clearly see by (1) the state of your hair, (2) the fact you missed the promotion at work again, and (3) your chaotic, hectic schedule that you clearly have no idea how to drive the car we call life.

Are you ready to hand the steering wheel of your unhealthy desires to Jesus, yet?

Then Jesus [said] . . . “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.”

The Message

I am more joyful with Jesus in His rightful place, on the throne of my life, striving to please Him. He is often so very pleased with my pitiful excuses for efforts. See this post about fasting for an example.

As my desires become more aligned with His desires, joy follows. Yes, I can even learn to sometimes DESIRE fasting over Oreos, or fasting over that delicious turkey dinner (Albeit this desire is coming slowly, I do see progress, however dimly).

Are you ready to kick the master of yourself off the throne of your life and to offer the place to Jesus, yet?

And may you too soar more often, friend.

May pleasing the audience of One be enough.

Ultimately, nothing in this life, apart from God, can satisfy our desires.

John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

As this song plays, consider asking Holy Spirit: How am I the master of my life, demanding things of me that I could never meet? How am I trying too hard? May you find the path that leads to your best life, friend.

It is far more biblical to learn quiet attentiveness before God than to exhaust ourselves in a flurry of activity.

Eugene Peterson

God Is Wrong But Do You Think He’s Still Smarter Than Us?

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

I want to be clear that I really don’t think God knows what he’s doing with this one annoying habit of his of letting everyone use His name and therefore call themselves a Christian. (I.e. Christian comes from the word Christ, as in followers of Jesus Christ.)

Look, I wish that all the Christians looked like Olivia Newton-John, and John Travolta, too. But they don’t. At least they could all look like Bill Gates, and maybe not be super handsome, but have an intellectual coolness in their back pocket.

Look, just so it’s clear, if I was vetting admittance to the Jesus team, I’d have admittance cards. All human-made groups have this if we’re honest. Think of the Rotary club, certain brands of cars, pretentious golf clubs, fancy timeshare opportunities, etc. Now that’s identifying with sophistication!*

But Jesus went and had the audacity of getting buddy-buddy with the biggest losers of his culture and calling them his friends.

In fact, on reflection, this may be good news for me, because I probably wouldn’t have been let into the Christian club by my own standards. I wobble so much in 6-inch heels that whoever is deciding whether I should be in the club or not would be sure to spot an imposter.

And I definitely have not accumulated enough “cultural cool points” in my lifetime to justify admittance to the Jesus team by my own qualifiers.

Maybe it’s best that God has things his own way come to think of it.

Which brings me to my next point: We can relax! Our stomach fat can hang out, we can wear our tattered, comfiest, sweatpants, or a pink one-piece jumper. (My article of clothing of choice if I’m honest. If cultural fashion trends ever sway close to that style, please advise so I can quickly find one).

Whew! The “They can be them” curse is the other side of the coin of the “I can be me” freedom.

The biggest thing I want to say is:

STOP defining Christians by the people in His club

They’re losers! Jesus is the only one who is cool.

Still, if you find someone who looks like Olivia Newton-John, talks like Tim Keller, and loves like Mother Theresa, that’s my personal vote for a Christian mascot.

Paste her image everywhere! “Don’t you want to be in her group?” the advertising signs could read. Too bad she’ll disappoint FOR SURE too.

we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us

The Message

No, we better just stick with Jesus as the one we want to identify with, come to think of it.

Maybe God IS smarter than me?

Blogpost Footnotes
*No, I don’t belong to any of those types of groups. Why do you ask?

What I Am Learning About Suffering Well After Twenty-Nine Days Of Bed Rest

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

The first week on bed rest wasn’t too bad.

I was pretty sure my body would figure itself out, my back would crack in the right direction, and I would be up and running in no time.

I opened an office on my bed, barking orders at my homeschooled kid, and attending meetings online.

I forgot to tell one male teacher why I was in bed during the online call which was a bit embarrassing after the fact. But I’ve done more embarrassing things in good health.

My husband brought me coffee each morning. My daughters brought me tea. All in all, it wasn’t the end of the world.

But I’m on day twenty-nine today of near constant bed rest. The allure has lost its charm.

I was struggling to hang onto my mood today, meaning I was trying to kick a foul mood and find some fruits of the spirit somewhere, but I was coming up empty-handed again.

A friend texted me “How are you?”

I shut off the phone and rolled over. Where do I begin? I’m trying to hold onto a positive attitude.

Don’t shut her out, I felt God whisper.

I answered her text.

Be honest, I felt him whisper again.

She phoned later that night. And again, despite my foul mood, I felt God prompting me to pick up the phone, to say something.

I answered the phone and chatted imbecilely about happy things in our life – toilet training our new rabbit, our daughter home from university this week.

And when we got to the subject of my back I tried to keep up a brave front for a while. No one likes a bother. We all have stuff we walk through, after all.

But I was surprised when I felt emotional as I babbled my feelings to her. I’ve seen her tears before so it was safe for her to see mine. So I let them flow a little. And I learned a bit more about myself, about the lessons I’m learning on this journey of suffering. Here are a few:

1. It’s fear again that’s robbing my joy. I couldn’t figure out why the first week of bed rest was not too bad but today with a regression of symptoms was so upsetting. Yes. It’s because fear has shown itself again, reared its ugly head again, gnawing away at the courage in my heart. What if I get worse? Fear. And fear fed by my unfiltered thoughts grew bigger, overpowering my peace.

2. I was also afraid I wasn’t doing enough. Apparently, this is the a very common fear most humans feel, I recently learned*. What if I should be taking one healthcare provider’s advice and not the other’s, or vice versa? What if I try to get up and move around too much or too little? Fear. Fear that I am not walking the tight-rope of expectations for a temperamental back that randomly punishes me no matter what I do.

3. The remedy to fear? Repentance. I actually feel powerful when I repent of fear, ironically. Try saying this: God I’m sorry for being fearful of something way far out in my future when you promised me only enough grace for today. Jesus, I’m sorry for thinking that I’m going to pull myself up by the bootstraps and fix this back problem when I can’t even see my own back, never mind have any idea what knots my back nerves and muscles inside have gotten themselves into. Forgive me for thinking, again, that I will save me. Instead, guide me and whisper to me, and help me to learn from you how much rest and movement my body needs to heal.

And so the phone call ended.

My situation hasn’t changed but my heart of a lion was feeling stronger. I could sense it beating within me again. Whatever I go through You will strengthen me. Whatever difficulty I face You are there with me. When I go through the valley, You comfort me.

As you listen to this song, try repenting of your fear, repenting of your self-sufficiency, and thanking God for the glimmers of hope in your life. Then ask Holy Spirit how to have enough strength to face today. What do you hear Him whisper?

Blogpost Footnotes

* Joyce Meyer – Do It Afraid! Obeying God In The Face Of Fear

You Love Eating Only Air Instead of Feasting On Turkey – Admit it! (Healthy Habits Post 8)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

One of these days I’m going to write a book about how to have copious financial resources. The key premise:

To accumulate more money, simply buy less stuff!

Lori Lawe, TM*

I’m writing this blog post series about healthy weight, however, but a similar key premise applies:

If we want to stop carrying around all that extra jiggly stuff in the middle, at some point, we may have to talk about eating a bit less food.

Lori Lawe, TM*

Today’s blog post is about ENJOYING eating less.

I’m the kind of person that likes to have fun. So if we have to do something that’s not fun, let’s trick ourselves into thinking that we are having fun! So, as you are learning these helpful tips and habits, try to keep in the back of your mind the key lesson which is: Eating air is way more fun than eating tempting and delicious food!

Today we will learn to trick ourselves that we:

1. Are eating dessert when we are not,
2. Love God more than we love padding our belly fat, and
3. Are stuffing ourselves when we’re not eating anything at all.

  1. No dessert anyone? Back when I remembered I was writing a series of posts about healthy habits, I wrote that one of the habits was to have camomile tea just before bed. This is a great tip I picked up on the internet that actually helped me! I guess there IS useful information out there somewhere! You put quite a bit of extra honey in your camomile tea after supper. Then you tell yourself “This is dessert!” You’re having extra honey so it is a bit of a treat. Then you drink your tea with the relish of eating an entire cheesecake, and wait until Sunday for real dessert. You can do it!
  2. God or more belly fat? The next habit is kind of cool and it’s a way to develop the habit of fasting and seeking God, without having to do any work (Oh wait, did I say that out loud?) As you know, and I’ve discussed here, I found fasting for spiritual purposes, for even more than – oh – 10 minutes, to be a little challenging. So this is a compromise. I just try to delay my breakfast. We all have to start somewhere! Use that time of being a bit hungry to push yourself into God, to ask Him why you’re such a spaz most of the time, to pour out your heart, and you’ll realize that breakfast kind of loses its allure. Your deeper needs are emerging. And so, this habit has become one of my favorite habits, if I’m honest. Plus your body thanks you. There’s a lot of good research about intermittent fasting. And the way I’ve structured these habits, where you kind of trick yourself into thinking you’re eating dessert when you’re not after supper (so you’re not eating), and you just delay your breakfast for a bit turns into a temporary fast. But don’t tell your body that because your mind might not like it, and it’s all about keeping your mind happy, right? Even if you are deceiving your mind a bit. Who’s counting?
  3. Top secret tip for tricking yourself into thinking you are eating copious amounts of food when you’re not eating anything at all. Don’t tell anyone I said this, or at least don’t link back to this site if you do. (I won’t admit I ever said this), but here’s an AMAZING tip. Shh…. Top secret. . . Lean your head over the food dish of choice, when no one is looking, of course. Close your eyes, inhale, enjoy the smells, and pretend you’re chewing. Say, “Yum!” A second plate without any calories, anyone? (Was anyone looking when I said that? Whew! No one heard!) Remember you didn’t hear it from me! Enjoy!

Whoever can figure out how to market the promise: How to enjoy whatever foods you want, whenever you want them, and not gain any weight, and then link to Point 3 above will be a millionaire! Cut me 10% of your profits, please! (I still won’t admit I had anything to do with you, however.)

Hey maybe you want to ghostwrite my financial book discussed in the first paragraph, come to think of it!

We could call it, “How to ENJOY Getting Rich And Thin!”

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Blogpost Footnotes

*Trademarked

(My conscience finds it ironic, for some reason, that I’m eating a 482g bag of “snacking chocolate” as I write this. Don’t forget to eat lots of chocolate when people are looking to confuse them! Because confusing people is fun.)

The Best Places To Find Healthy Spiritual Food This Season (Healthy Habits Post 7)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

I’m going to start this post by quickly summarizing three points from a previous post.

I’m doing this because this post isn’t quite long enough, so I’m repeating myself so that my posts are all about the same length, so I look like a professional blogger.

But I’m not supposed to tell you that because that is boring, but other stuff I say is boring too, and you still read that! (Perfect. This post is exactly the right length).

Ahem . . .

In a previous post, I gave three reasons to indicate we may be eating spiritual cotton candy when we thought we were at the spiritual feast. These three indicators are:

1. We’ve been to a church once and were decidedly underwhelmed.

2. We know a Christian but that person, Ned Flanders, is difficult to be around for long.

3. We’ve figured out church is for losers. Need I say more?

So where do we go to have the best shot at finding healthy spiritual food?

1. Ask where Holy Spirit is moving in your city. After they faint because you asked that question (C’mon! Shocking people is fun!) bring some popcorn and check out that church next week. Listen for God while you’re there.

2. Find a “real” Christian. The way to tell if someone is a “real” Christian? There is no way to tell for sure.

Christian behaviour can be put on like a mask… Spectators… will often break into applause. But there is no applause in heaven.…

Eugene H. Peterson

When you meet someone who is wholeheartedly following Jesus, you’ll know. Sorry. That’s all I got. Keep looking. They’re out there. And when you find them, take them out to lunch. And ask them questions. Don’t throw out your lunch before you’ve even eaten it. Food is waiting for you, too.

3. Hang out with losers. Just because some Christians are losers, doesn’t mean they aren’t God’s children. But the same is true for you actually. When you stop sucking in your gut, stop pretending you’ve got your life together, you are on the right, narrow, spiritual path.

The path to the one who is truth is found by telling the truth.

Knowing we are losers, and stopping trying to be impressive is actually one step towards true spiritual food. 

Jesus is the glorious one. 

Not us. 

Yep, they’re losers at church. Get over it. We’re here to see Jesus, not them. (And not you either. Praise God.)

“Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me . . .”

Jesus Christ

4. Wake up! Now that you know you’re a starving loser, I hope you turn your attention to Holy Spirit right now. He’s here beside you right now. He’s been tapping your shoulder your entire life but you may not have noticed yet.

“Hungry?” he’s asking. “Come to the feast, child,” he offers, holding out an outstretched arm. Will you take one small step down the road toward tasting the only food that truly satisfies . . .?

If so, try feasting on this. If you don’t have spiritual teeth yet to enjoy chewing this food, don’t fret, but try drinking this milk instead.

But don’t ask for milk the way my daughter did here. That’s just rude.

God, help us to follow the scent of fresh bread and other delicious foods to find the feast. May we not go hungry for You again this season, we pray.

I Lied, OK? Haven’t You Ever Lied?

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

All right, all right! I lied!

Are you happy now?

Yes, it’s true I said I was only going to publish ONCE a week in this blog post here.

And yes, that is the blog post that is titled, “This is NOT a blog post”. Why are people always confused when I write? People nowadays! I blame the school system.

As I was saying, I promised to write a bit less.

This is because I needed time to write my book.

However, it turns out that I missed you!

Well, what I mean to say is that my ego missed you!

You can read this post here if you don’t know what I mean.

It turns out that if I’m not writing anything, then no one can read it, and if no one can read it, then my ego can’t be bolstered up by the people who hang on to my every illuminated thought.

So I have to keep doing and doing in order to feel good about myself!

So that’s why I’m writing more.

That’s why I’m getting more counselling too.

Maybe you can learn from my example of how to be a real success!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

PS- The point of this blog post is to announce that this blog post here is wrong because I will be publishing posts more often than ONCE weekly. I’m not sure how often. It depends on how long my bath is that night and whether or not I remembered I have a blog that day. Cut me some slack! I’m homeschooling!

The Best Path To Real Success Is To Loudly Flaunt Your Ego

/ Lori Lawe / 2 Comments

So it’s my birthday! My blog’s birthday, that is.

My blog is one year old this week.

I can’t believe you found me in this unknown, unvisited corner of the internet!

And wow!

I can’t believe that every day, 10 of you (. . . no, I didn’t forget any zeros . . . why do you ask?) read this stuff!

And it’s not just the people I bribe anymore!

(Don’t people have anything better to do nowadays?)

What I meant to say, is: Wow! You must really like me!

Wait. What I meant to say is: Think of all the fame and glory I have!

Wait. What I meant to say is: My life must have meaning now!

Anyway, what are we going to do because it’s my birthday?

Well, it’s actually my blog’s birthday, but since my blog has more worldly success than I do as a homeschooling parent, I will link my identity to my blog. I mean in regular life I tell people what I’ve been doing (for about two decades), and their eyes glaze off, and coincidentally, they always become desperately interested in talking to someone just behind me at the party instead.

Ha! But I have a secret successful altar ego now! I am like Clark Kent and Superman(/woman)! If only the rest of them knew!

Actually, it’s OK that they don’t. My ego can’t handle any more success because I’m no longer just a measly, societally unimportant, homeschooling parent!

But wait- sorry.

You, however, can be VERY proud of yourself for being a measly homeschooling parent! This post is about encouraging you after all!

For those of you who are new to this blog, or who have never watched the Simpsons* this is called “satire”, where we make fun of an opposite view to help draw out our own neuroses.

You’re welcome!

And now that we’ve been smacked in the face with how neurotic we really are, consider this quote from Watchman Nee, a Minister in China, who suffered greatly for his choice to follow Jesus:

One day I was walking along the street with a stick, very weak, and in broken health, and I met one of my old college professors . . . My career, my health everything had gone and here was my old professor who taught me law in the school asking me “Are you still in this condition with no success, no progress, nothing to show?” But the very next moment . . . I really knew what it meant to have the Spirit of Glory resting on me. The thought of being able to pour out my life for my Lord flooded my soul with glory… I could look up, and without reservation say, “Lord, I praise thee! This is the best thing possible; it is the right course I have chosen!” To my professor, it seemed a total waste to serve the Lord, but that is what the gospel is for – to bring each one of us to a true estimate of His worth.

The Normal Christian Life


Don’t you wish you were as free as people like him to follow your own Northstar and not care what society thinks of you?

Wait!

You are!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

So by the way, what should we do together to celebrate my blog’s birthday? Virtual cake is super lame. So are virtual party hats. And I just deleted my “Zoom party ideas” bookmarks this week. Which brings me to my next initiative:

You are very welcome to join us at our online prayer and encouragement events.

When I started this blog, I was the only one at this site, of course. Similarly, I’m the only one attending the online prayer and encouragement events right now, as these were just launched.

However, since there are many more who read my blog now than there were before, there will be many more who join our online events later than there are now. This prediction is due to mathematical extrapolation within a closed set system. See the graph below for further clarification.

It will be great to meet you.

And so, Happy Birthday! To me! Wait. What I meant to say is: To my ego!

Blogpost Footnotes
*I can’t stomach watching The Simpsons for long because I am a real-life amalgamation of Lisa Simpson and Ned Flanders. I don’t want to know that much about myself; I’d rather project my ego at you, instead.

Does Your Spiritual Food Taste Rotten? (Healthy Habits Post 6)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Of course, who doesn’t LOVE to tuck into that holiday feast and eat so much we can barely move? We sit on the couch, our stomachs in pain, contentment bringing a smile to our faces.

(Yes, I will soon be publishing an apparently contrasting post called “You LOVE To Breathe Only Air Instead Of Eating That Tempting Turkey Dinner- Admit It!” but let’s face it, no one knows WHAT is true on the internet anymore!).

Ahem . . . As I was saying . . .

In a previous post, I proved definitively that you LOVE to eat green food AND you LOVE to be nourished with healthy spiritual food.

But we actually eat popsicles, cotton candy, and fast food burgers more often than we should.

Similarly, we’ve tasted the equivalent of spiritual cotton candy and we sometimes assume that we’ve attended a spiritual feast

“That food gives me a stomachache, heartburn, and nausea,” you conclude after a trip to church in Grade 5. “That food doesn’t nourish me”

And you’re right. It doesn’t. The problem is many of you never tasted, proper, nourishing, spiritual food. The kind you eat with relish and that leaves you on the couch in pain but with a delighted smile of contentment.

(There will be pain too at this spiritual feast because God will bring to the surface those unhealthy desires in your body that are poking you like cocaine needles. His operation, like any operation, hurts. But along with the pain comes contentment, which also makes us smile . . . eventually.)

Proof you may have been eating spiritual cotton candy when you thought you were at the full feast include the following:

  1. You’ve been to church. Most churches are empty shells. They are the plates that the food comes in. You have your fork and knife and you’re ready to eat but no food is there. They forgot to invite God to the party. They forgot to invite God to church every Sunday. So just because you’ve been to church doesn’t NECESSARILY mean you’ve been to a spiritual feast and tasted the food.
  2. You know a Christian. Your neighbour down the street, Ned Flanders (Me!), your coworker, your distant or near relative, your friend, or whoever, who calls themselves a Christian may or may not be a Christian. Sorry for the shock. When I was at Bible college, a mentor suggested that out of those who call themselves Christians, possibly only 2% are true Christians, learning to abide with Holy Spirit. So just because you know a Christian, doesn’t mean you’ve enjoyed the main course of a spiritual feast NECESSARILY.
  3. You’ve noticed Church is for losers. Yep. That’s true. In a previous post, I describe how you shouldn’t let the losers be a barrier to you reaching God. (The truth is that you’re a loser too, but you may be too spiritually blind to realize that yet. It’s OK! They have to love you!) That’s actually the coolest part about Church! You’re accepted exactly as you are, a loser among losers.

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

The Message

The best places to begin the hunt to increase our chances of finding healthy spiritual food will be discussed in a future post.

After we celebrate my birthday.

(My blog’s birthday, I mean.)

Of course!