I crave more…more of God, more purpose, more simplicity. Not more, in the sense of looking for something else to satisfy, but more, in the sense of embracing what I have been given. The simpletons of seeing my sister’s newborn baby and being awestruck that his fingerprint is unlike any other. Or the way the flowers know when they are supposed to bloom this time every year. Observing the rhythm of every wave rolling onto shore innately knowing their boundary. These are the reflections of a God, who wove the world into being just for me! A sin-tainted world, which never was God’s original plan, but still His creation. God’s desire was to walk with me in the cool of the day, in the sinless Garden. His desire was to uninhibitedly speak to me face to face and lavish His love over me everyday. His desires for me have always been good, they still are!

As the free reign of choice was offered to our humanity, we couldn’t handle the beauty of all that we were given. We wanted “more”! More knowledge, more explanations, more than the simplicity of knowing God alone and enjoying his hand-carved creation and purpose for us! We craved to be like Him! The unexplained no’s and mysteries that we didn’t understand were driving us to find the answers. And we are still driven by that desire today…to “know” and understand in the way that our creator, God does. We, the created, just as a child, must accept the “unexplainable”! As parents you would think that we would get this, but somehow, we still try to eat our dessert for dinner and get infuriated when we are told “no”! We expect our children to just accept and trust our “no”, without questioning, but we do the exact same thing to God. We have to have answers, instead of trusting His love and good intentions for us despite the things that we can’t explain or comprehend. If we can’t figure it out, then we will make up some theology or “explanation” to make ourselves in control again…then, we are right back to the Garden days.

So, as I embrace this season of “spring” in my life, this season of good change…this season of “letting go” of the past and latching hold of a new adventure. Rejecting my desire to be “God” and trusting Him as the One who has the purist of love and intentions for me. I don’t have to understand everything or control it! I was created to be loved and to walk with God. I can only go so far on this sin-tainted earth, but God has already prepared a plan where he would redeem me and I will walk with Him face to face again, just as my Joseph is. (Romans 8:17-21) His redeemed plan is even better than the Garden. That plan is not only for me, but also for you!

There is a summons crying out for you…for you to let go of trying to be God and understand everything that hurts in your life. We are supposed to share in the sufferings of Christ so that we may also share in His glory. (Romans 8:17) “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, then when His glory is revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy.” I Peter 4:12-13. The Bible is clear to me that we will suffer on this earth and that is still after the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are not promised a pain-free existence, but are encouraged not to think it is strange. Just maybe these sufferings prepare us to relish that glory even deeper and that we will be able to enjoy it all the more.

We are the created, not the creator. Embrace that God is not the cause of your pain. We are living in this fallen world and it is not our home. We are passing through and are apart of God’s plan, a “bigger plan” that we can’t see or understand…YET! We will understand! We will have some answers! Until then, I beckon you to trust. Trust this God that I know is crazy about you…about us…the God who has carried me through the coldest of winters and has thrust me into the newness of spring-time. “Winter has gone, but spring has come.” We are the created, by the most loving, faithful, gracious creator. We can trust him with the “unexplainable” and watch him use it in our lives here on this temporary earth.

Written by Joy Scott, March 12, 2012

It happens once a year, an opportunity to make promises to yourself without feeling bad that you’ll break them a few weeks later. Every now and then it’s even possible to stick with your New Year’s resolution for more than a few months as I did last year when I gave up coffee for 333 days. If you can survive the first two weeks without caffeine it’s totally worth it, but those first two weeks will rip your spirit from your body. But I digress…

This year one of my resolutions is to quit Facebook. That’s no posting, no reading, no glancing on my phone while I wait or wiling away time looking at other’s photos on my iPad. No Facebook for a year. You might think it would be the tech aficionado thing to do – jump to the latest social network from the last one while feeling a sense of exclusivity in a place other’s haven’t yet found. But as much as I prefer Google+ and Twitter, that really has nothing to do with my decision at all.

Here’s three reasons I could quit Facebook, and one reason I will.

Privacy violations

Facebook gives my privacy as much respect as a hawk gives to a scampering rodent. It pays just enough attention to know it’s there before using it in some nefarious scheme or another. I’ve grown weary of the frequent missteps and half-hearted apologies. From Beacon, the infamous ‘share what you buy with all your friends without really asking you’, to the latest stalk and share feature otherwise known as frictionless sharing, Facebook has done much to flaunt it’s ownership of your data. Other recent examples include using your likeness to endorse products (a class action lawsuit is currently winding it’s way through the courts), it’s ever complex (and opt-out by default) privacy settings and now their plans to sell the details on your timeline to advertisers as if your life story were a commodity to be traded.

I’ve had enough. Even thought I don’t believe they’re secretly a government spying program, I’ve had enough. I understand that free services need to make money through advertising, but I cannot condone such blatant disregard for my privacy.

Game spam

I really don’t want to spend hours of my life farming virtual crops, or spending hundreds of dollars on virtual goods. I’d also prefer it if I wasn’t constantly pestered to do so. Without constant tending my Facebook stream quickly becomes a cesspool of spammy invites and social gaming engagement strategies. Rather than build in adequate tools to stop the spam, Facebook is integrating mobile gaming, so I can receive game spam wherever I go. No thanks.

Facebook is Bad for the Open Internet

Facebook is building a walled garden to make old time AOL executives green with envy. Slowly they are moving to own more of your content, and keep it enclosed within their confines. Whether it’s hoarding your contact data so you can’t take it off the service, or disabling links to import RSS feeds and hence making 3rd party websites less valuable Facebook has a strategy for keep it all within their walled garden. It’s also concerning that they are becoming the de facto ID provider for the Internet, ahead of open federated solutions like Open ID or Mozilla’s new Browser ID effort. Many websites have also given over ownership of their comment streams to Facebook.

I don’t want to live in a world where one company controls so much of my online life, from identity to content to businesses I interact with to my social graph. Especially when their financial interests are directly aligned with keeping that control and never letting me leave.

This Pushed Me Over the Edge

In all honesty, all my complaints above are about a nascent technology that is taking longer than I’d like to properly serve my needs. While Facebook deserves to be chastised for it’s missteps, any company that launches and iterates should be given a small measure of our good grace as things improve (all these additional reasons to leave notwithstanding). All the reasons above brought me to the edge of leaving, but this alone pushed me over:

I feel lonely when I’m on Facebook.

My time spent elsewhere is infinitely more enriching. Whether it’s offline with friends and family experience the real world, meditating in yoga, connecting with others who have a shared interest on Google+ or Twitter, or engaging one on one with someone I care about through the many varied channels of communication we have available today.

It’s great to follow what my brothers are doing half way around the world in Bahrain and Cape Town, but weeks worth of Facebooking is no substitute for a 30 minute Skype conversation, a few paragraphs of an email with them or even a brief text message exchange. It’s fine seeing where my friends are going and who they’re with, but it’s a lot more fun spending time with them in person or talking on the phone.

I feel ashamed because Facebook tells me who I should care about, but I don’t enough to form a real relationship. I feel lonely because Facebook reminds me of all the people I think should care more about me, but don’t for the same reason as above.

So I’m quitting Facebook.

What will I do instead?

I hear good things about the outside world I’ll use the time to do something more constructive with my relationships and personal growth. I’ll be more diligent about answering the piles of email from friends that taunt my procrastination, engaging with conversations on Google+ and blogs, and setting up that coffee date I’d been putting off.

December 31st is my last day on Facebook – I’m looking forward to all the extra time and energy I’ll have available. Join me, and make 2012 a better year. #quitfacebook (end of guest blog)

A note from Gwen:

Wow!  I have been thinking some similar thoughts lately and have desperately been missing my time reading books (remember those?) and writing!  Facebook, you have been fun for awhile, but you are moving down my list of things I do on a daily basis.  The possibilities of what I will be doing are endles..

Blessings!

I was pulling in the driveway returning from Wednesday night choir practice and noticed something looked different from my view into the dining room. I quickly proceeded to the back door. What in the world had happened? What was all this dust? As the dust cleared, there stood my husband of just a few months by a newly cut opening between the dining room and kitchen. He was leaning on his sledgehammer and smiling like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. It seemed there had been a bit of a blowout while I was away at choir practice. My jaw dropped as I viewed the scene before me. Looking into the dining room I saw dust settling all over our newly acquired wedding crystal and on my favorite cross-stitch picture on the wall.

A Very Familiar Site

He broke the silence, “Hey Honey, guess what? We are renovating the kitchen and I decided that this is where the new door will be!” What an introduction for a new bride to the real side of her visionary renovating husband. Little did I know at that point what I would learn about love while dealing with all the sheetrock dust.

We were young and the project was large, but we completed it in what I call “Classic Tommy Style.” In fact, we renovated every house we lived in for the next two decades and today we are now nearing completion of a long master bath renovation.

Renovating a home can be a very stressful time. 2 Timothy 3:17(The Message) teaches us that through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. Studying the verse in Galatians can put you together and shape you up so that you not only survive a renovation, but reap a great result.

Do not grow weary in doing good: Decide that this completed renovation will be good but be aware that weariness will be knocking at the door. Discuss the planned budget and vision. Most renovating husbands have been working on the project details longer than you have had a chance to give it thought. Take the time to review the plans together and make appropriate suggestions.

Do not lose heart: You need to know what the estimated completion time frame is for your project, but keep the word ESTIMATED in big caps. Contractors work on time frames that are not nearly as efficient as our iPhone calendars. It is important to make up your mind to stay flexible and not frustrated when delays happen. It is nearly impossible to be flexible if you are focused on the timing.

Be aware that there is going to be a certain level of disorganization and mess. Most likely there will be a point when you are ready to throw everything out the window, or lose heart. When you feel like that, take a break, take a walk, regroup and refocus.

In due season you shall reap: Smile! Try to enjoy the journey. Celebrating each small accomplishment along the way will keep frustration controlled. As you focus on the small goals completed you will be looking towards the harvest at the end instead of the mess today. An example of this would be: “We are so excited that the sinks arrived today!”

During that first renovation I learned a very important lesson about love and sheetrock dust. A friend of ours was teaching at church and described a friend who worked tirelessly around his house to show his love for his new bride, even building a new kitchen for her. I suddenly realized it was my husband that he was talking about. I saw the mess, the endless dust, and even the paint dribbles now as the love gift to me that my husband intended! I honestly had thought he was enjoying making all the mess just to get me riled up. My husband’s love language was acts of kindness, but I simply did not realize that renovations fell into that category until then.

One thing that my husband told me during that first renovation that has always stuck in my mind is: “Don’t fall in love with your houses!” I would like to add my own ending to those words of wisdom: “Instead, fall in love with your man!” Happy renovating!

Written by Gwen Plauche
Blog: www.GwenPlauche.com
Copyright 2011, Gwen Plauche. You have permission to reprint I Found My Heart in the Sheetrock Dust in its entirety only provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

⁴³ “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.   “There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”⁴⁴ The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

Points to ponder:

1.  Elijah was a man listening to God, not looking at his circumstances. “For there is the sound of heavy rain.”  Where did Elijah come up with this idea – what was he listening to?  I Kings 18:1:  There was a severe famine in Samaria when Elijah received this word from the Lord “Go and present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the land.”  Notice that God had an action for Elijah, which Elijah promptly completed.  Interesting that God did not send rain upon Elijah’s completion of seeing Ahab, but Elijah could already hear the rain coming!

It was West Texas hot and dusty in the land of Samaria and God tells him to present himself to Ahab and He will send rain on the land.  Full of faith, he stands firm in the presence of his enemy and declares the Lord is God. Then there was the great showdown between Elijah & God vs. Baal & the prophets. (read the details in 1 Kings 18)  That was miraculous; that was God.  But it did not stop there.  It had not rained yet.  God said He would send rain.

2.  Elijah wanted what God told him to be louder than anything around him.  Even though God had just shown His miraculous hand at the altars of Baal, Elijah did not stay there.  He then climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel, bent to the ground and put his face between his knees. He removed himself from others, assumed the prayer position of bending down to the ground and even closed out the immediate surroundings by placing his head between his knees to pray through what God had promised.

3. Elijah looked for the sign that God was at work.  He tells his servant to go and look towards the sea…seven times before any sign was visible!  How many times have we stopped standing in faith because there was no earthly sign?  There may be reports totally contrary to what God has said.   Elijah believed what God said and was willing to stay up there on the mountain praying for what God said He would send until it came through.  Note that He declared the rain had arrived once a cloud as small as a man’s hand appeared in the sky.  My hand measures 7 inches from palm to fingertip and 4 inches wide.  Compared to the sky, that is nothing!  That was not a huge thundercloud like we would look at and remark, “It looks like it’s going to rain!”

What has God told you?  Has he asked you to do something?  It might be “stand,” “believe,”  “speak to that person,” or “go to Ahab.”  Make sure you do what God asks.  What has God promised?  That is what you will press in for.

Listen to God and not your circumstances.  Remember God said “rain” – the circumstances said “dust.”  God may show you other miracles along the way.  Hang on until what He says happens.

Let God’s promise be louder than any other report.  Sometimes we do not have the luxury of going to the top of a mountain away from distractions to pray.  We can, however, continuously pray and put any other report “on the grid.”  Does this line up with God’s promise?  We can pray confidently at all times, even when there is no visible sign.  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Check the sky!

Look for the sign God is at work.  Elijah was not weak in faith to send the servant to look for the clouds – instead that was his confidence that it was coming, he just didn’t know when.  He wasn’t asking for a sign – he was looking with anticipation for God’s promised provision.   Are you checking the sky in faith?  Are you looking around you for the smallest confirmation that the fulfillment of what God has promised has now started?

God operates on His own agenda – percentages that we quote and depend on do not limit God.  Faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain.  A cloud the size of a man’s hand against a massive clear sky is bringing rain.

God does not consult with man’s knowledge before determining what can and cannot be done.  Man can only quote what they know from their own experience or the experience of others.  God is not limited by any report.

How many people had ever been able to walk across the Red Sea prior to the Israelites escape on dry land? 0%

The majority report of the Israelite spies into the Promised Land (83%) said to turn back.  Only 2 of the 12 (17%) said it was God.

How many groups of 5,000 had been fed with a simple basket of fish & bread prior to Jesus?  0%

The list is endless.  The Bible is full of  examples that God does not consult with man’s percentages or reports.

In 1987, a baby born with a diaphragmatic hernia had a 10% survival rate.  In 2011, one of those diaphragmatic hernia babies celebrated his 24^th birthday, to the Glory of God.  His name is Ryan Alexander Plauche, our firstborn.   Our pediatric team had not previously seen a baby with this survive.  Nor had they seen the power of God at work healing.  They have now.

Our faith in the God of Miracles is not a fairy tale type of belief.  We press on toward the goal where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.  We’re off and running (towards Ahab or wherever God tells us to go), not turning back (from Philippians 3:13-14 The Message).

Written by Gwen Plauche

Copyright 2011, Gwen Plauche. You have permission to reprint Check the Sky in its entirety only, and forward to your friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

I have a favorite perfume.  What I just don’t understand is why dear hubby believes that slick salesclerk who swears that some less expensive brand smells just like my brand, but I can tell it is not the same!  No imitations accepted!

Scripture teaches us about God’s favorite fragrance – and He doesn’t like imitations either.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15  But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.  For we are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

Wow – the fragrance of the knowledge of Him…the aroma of Christ – have you ever considered what aroma you are giving off?

My Great Grandmother lived in a home full of aromas.  She was frequently cooking grape Jello or stewing down some fresh okra.   As I sat down on her worn out couch, I would be surrounded with that musty-old-things smell and the ever present mothball smell when she pulled things out of her closet.  My favorite aromas from Grandma are somehow captured on the pages of her Bible.  Perhaps it is because her Bible was open so much that the smells are still captured in there.   It is amazing to me that today, twenty-plus years after her death, I can open that old white KJV Bible, hold it up to my nose, close my eyes and imagine Grandma sitting right next to me.  The power of aroma!

As a woman today, we need to be alert as to the fragrance we leave behind.  Is it one that our loved ones will cherish when they get a whiff of it years after we are gone?

So to have the fragrance of the knowledge of Him, what does that smell like?

My dear 14 year old

Just like my dear 14 year old son gets a special fragrance after his lacrosse matches, we also get a fragrance from the activities that fill our days.  Consider yourself a purveyor of fragrance, ladies, spraying it on all around.   The real question is what fragrance have we been filling up with?

Ephesians 5:1 says “Be imitators of God as dearly loved children.” This is not a “who died and made you king” attitude.  Instead, fill your days with love, long-suffering attitudes, merciful and gracious actions.

The next verse from Ephesians says to “live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  Many of us just bounce through life, but as aroma bearers of Christ, we must choose purposefully to love.  Do you speak love?  Do you act love?

Think of walking through your house, past your family with the bottle of the aroma of Christ.  It is up to you whether they smell it or not.  That touch, that time spent together, that hug, that special note, those favorite cookies – it all smells of Christ.

The power is released when someone smells the fragrance of Christ.  I love, love, love it when Christ has revealed Himself to me, especially during a crisis.  I always try to address it as the fragrance of Christ – and remind myself that He is on the premises.  When you are aware of His aroma – that love that passes all  – but do not see Him, be reassured that He is there.

So picture a cute purse atomizer.  It’s empty until you fill it.  Then, it’s up to you to spray the world around you.  Spray the aroma of Christ – let those around you realize that He is near.

Wednesday morning, my plain oatmeal with blueberries and pom seeds tasted oddly bitter, no metalic.  Wednesday lunch, more of the same – enough, I say!  I Googled “bitter taste in mouth” and soon started putting the pieces together that those lovely little pine nuts (from China) were the culprit. To describe the taste, it’s like licking a piece of metal (not that I have ever done that…).

My nutrition consultant confirmed this theory and when I got home, I read the back of the bag and found #1 – Product of China  and #2 this lovely warning:

What is the remedy?  I received a bit a reprieve from gargling with hot salt water, but it soon returned.  Another suggestion was to brush my tongue with toothpaste, another short term answer.

Well, I wanted to lose weight and eat less, but this is not the way I had envisioned it.  When I researched this a bit more, I found that ABC reported on this “random reaction” and the bad news is that it can last up to 4 weeks!

I am open to suggestions if anyone has fought and won this batter.

Book lover that I am (that is a title..), I am aware that the NY Times has issued their annual top titles list of 2010, but today I’m thinking about titles we call ourselves. 

I know people who worry about their title at work or what people will call them if they go back to school, or change their job or choose to stay home – at the end of the day (or should I say, at the end of time) the most important titles are the ones that the Creator of all calls us!

Who’s the last person who called you the “apple of their eye?”  How about “beloved?”  Wouldn’t it be great to be called a ”child of God?”   Do you know anyone else who has “written your name on the palm of their hand?”

Are you waiting to achieve that great goal before you have the title “overcomer?”  Let God call you that now!

How about these simple, yet profound titles: 

“Loved”  
“Blessed”
“Healed”
“Forgiven”
“Not forgotten”
“The Head, not the Tail”

You know,  people call themselves the craziest titles – “I am depressed!”  “I am sick!”  ”I am diabetic!”  Yuck!  No wonder 1 in 20 Americans are depressed and taking all those crazy medicines advertised on TV that “may cause death!”  I am not suggesting living in denial, but I don’t ever see those titles used by God when He describes us!

What is the best way to change the titles you call yourself?  I am going to borrow a method that my friend Mari Ann uses in her online health training  and suggest that that you write down some of these titles about yourself (in 3rd party) and review them on a regular basis.  Example:  “Gwen is loved”,” Gwen is the apple of God’s eye”, etc…  Get those statements down into your brain and you will have a new vocabulary soon! 

If you’re not sure about your relationship with God,  read about it here, pray a prayer like this, reach out to a friend or email me! 

Titles!  What will  your top titles of 2011 be?  

Then I thought of the endless hours I spent as a child gazing at white, fluffy clouds.  I remember seeing all sorts of shapes – clowns, giraffes and wondering where that really big hand of God went during the day.

It’s time for you – yes, you, to take a moment and observe nature around you – morning, noon or night – and reflect on the Creator of it all.  You will experience a bit of Peace on Earth and no remote control is required.

I look up at Your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
Your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do You bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?  Psalm 8:3-4 (The Message)

Ok, now I will say ”giraffe” and you try not to see it in your mind…hmm…  Can’t do it, can you?  What is the point of this exercise, besides drumming up memories of trips to Audubon Zoo in the steaming August heat of New Orleans’ summers?

Our mind translates into pictures.  As a child, we most likely learned our first words from picture flash cards.   Once we moved into the reading world, pictures were not as important…..or are they?

The first author I learned about this from was Jerry Lucas, “Doctor Memory” -who developed a system years ago to teach math facts, states & capitals, and the books of the Bible by using pictures.  One of my children, who shall remain unnamed, but who is now is in college in Dallas, was able to memorize the books of the Bible and recite them perfectly in reverse order for a public presentation – all because of the pictures driving the memories.

Golfers, try this one as you approach the 15th hole next to the water…”I will NOT hit the ball into the water!”  What happens next? You swing and Splash!  Why?  Your mind caught the word “water” and gave you the picture of it.  What you think about is where you will go.

You are smart and probably knew this already.  But did you know this?  Your mind cannot picture you NOT doing something.  Just like the Splash! that the golfer experienced. 

Tommy Newberry’s “Success is not an Accident” goes on to explain: ”You will always act consistently with the dominant pictures you allow to occupy your mind..”

• If you state “I DON’T eat junk food” - your mind shows you “junk food”
• If you state “I am NOT fat” – you know what picture that is!

My friend and exercise guru, Mari Ann Lisenbe of the Mari Method (check her out on FB), has used this to create “Brain Training” for her subscribers.  You watch a short video, with upbeat messages and music that help you retrain your thinking about eating and exercise – and it works!  You find yourself saying “I chose to forgive those who hurt me….”  or “I love my life,” along with lots of other uplifting statements.

So, my friend, can you – yes you, imagine a place where people train their brains to be positive? -  We have the technology! 

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies…..The Good Book – Phil 4:8 (The Message)

So my friends, this Southern gal offers a challenge:  Do you know of a time when your “Southern Cultural Christianity” got in the way of showing someone the Way?