Church Signs, Crazy Times, and My Daddy (My Protector)

I must confess. Yesterday, as I was driving home to Jacksonville from Lynchburg, I passed a church (Who am I kidding? I probably passed 140,000+ churches… traversing through the “Bible Belt” of the country and all…), and when I typically pass by churches on-the-side-of-the-road, what do you think I notice?
Yes, I notice the amount (or lack of amount) of cars in the parking lot (…I’m such a Baptist. Eeee.).  That’s an obvious give-away. See it; count it. Don’t see it; don’t count it. Done and done.
I also seemingly assume and assess the church’s community-friendliness based upon some non-essential (and probably very faulty) means. Like this one church. In South Carolina. Literally perched up right next to a palm reader’s palace. Had a “Revival: Thursday –Sunday” sign out front. I wondered if the palm reader had been invited to the revival. By a person, and not just a sign. See, those kinds of things are what I wonder about when I pass churches on my road trips.
And , while we’re at it, I must admit that I wonder about and am QUITE creeped out by the tiny churches with the HUGE cemeteries in the background. (You know what I’m talking about! They’re scccary.)
Finally, and perhaps the most interesting thing I notice about new-found churches on the side-of-the-road in the middle-of-nowhere is WHAT THEIR SIGN SAYS.  C’mon, you exactly know what I’m talking about: the fill-in-the-blank, post-at-your-own-risk-for-the-world-to-see church signs:
First, you’ve got the ones that say thought-provoking messages from some overly-bored, yet super-creative secretary. (Props to church secretaries everywhere… you truly do more than your fair share of work!)
And then there’s the ones that are literally black-and-white by sight and by meaning… You know, the ones that display made-up cutesy (and convicting!) phrases and that are signed “- God” at the end. [Still unsure how I feel about those…Hmmm.]
Then, if we’re real honest, there’s the ones that just make church people look crazy.
And that’s what I saw on my road trip home yesterday: A CHURCH SIGN THAT MADE CHURCH PEOPLE LOOK CRAZY.
What did it say? (You may ask.)
“Happy Father’s Day.”
My first reaction was a little mix of surprise (teachers tend to lose track of time in the summer!), a dash of shock (why didn’t Hallmark warn me?!), and a little voicemail to my mom (“hey, mom! Are you SURE it’s not Father’s Day TODAY?”)
It honestly made me wonder what kind of people attended that church. I mean, what kind of secretary would mess that up? Regardless of the reasoning behind that church advertising their craziness (and their lack of calendar) to the world, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the hopeful dads that would enter and the disappointment that might follow when they found out they had been duped.
But, naturally so, the thoughts in my little mind didn’t stop turning there.
I wanted to give these people the benefit of the doubt. I really did.
I wondered. If. Just. Maybe.
They did it on purpose?
What if they, like me, took time long enough to reminisce about their wonderful daddies and settled upon the fact that one Sunday was simply not enough time to say “Thank You” and “I love you” to the men in their lives. So, they decided that a Father's Day WEEK was more appropriate. (?)
If that was their rationale, I’m in. I’d agree. I’d attend their church (crazy sign and all).
Because if that much is true, though they had the date terribly wrong, they had the idea terribly right.
In these crazy times, good, solid dads are worth celebrating.
For they’re our protectors.
They keep us from what is harmful.
They guide us onto what is right.
Though we don’t always agree with them, they’re the MEN (the LEADERS, Biblically speaking) of our houses. And rightfully so.
Good, Godly daddies (like mine!) protect naturally and persistently, from the good nature stored up in their hearts.
Sub-par daddies protect sporadically, as in only when they’re threatened or intimidated.
“Bad” or absent daddies don’t protect others. They simply protect themselves. [I think they’re just too scared to do or know otherwise.]
Regardless of the rating a man may get on the above mentioned Rosemary-Richter-scale-of-Daddy-hood, something in me believes every man (and every daddy) LONGS to be a protector.
After all, it’s what God designed them to be. For it’s what God is to us, His children.
He protects us. He guides us. He loves us. He corrects us.
All that to address these two audiences:
Men of the world,
Strive to be good, Godly men. Long to be good, Godly daddies. Stand guard and protect, guide, love, and correct the people in your life - no matter what it may cost you. The world's waiting on men like you to take the lead.
Daddy,
Let’s be honest.
Every little girl (and little boy) needs a daddy.
But not just any dad will do,
They need a good, Godly one (like you).
Thank you for guiding me (even when it wasn’t easy!).
Thank you for protecting me (even when I didn’t readily comply!).
Thank you for loving me (always, always, always).
Thank you for correcting me (when my sassy little self needed it more than anything!).
Let’s take this Father’s Day WEEK to celebrate you’re mine.
I Love You,
Rosemary
p.s. Thank you, crazy church sign people in South Carolina, for bringing this stark reality to my mind’s attention. Father’s Day WEEK is where it’s at.

Feasts and Famines

Though I couldn’t put my finger on what it was or why, I was having a sad day and just had a longing feeling that I needed God today more than ever. While I do praise Him for that ability to want Him and to long for Him on the sad days, these thoughts entered into my mind:
Feasts and famines.
Mountain tops and valleys.
Ebbs and flows.
Winters and Spring times.
Ups and downs.
Promised Lands and Desert Wastelands.
Highs and lows.
Scripture’s sprinkled with them.
And, if we’re all honest about it, our lives are littered with them.
Your life.
My life.
The guy-next-door ‘s life.
Even the woman-living-down-the-street-in-the-cul-de-sac’s life is not immune to them.
What I’m referring to are the sad times, the thrilling times, the confusing times, the tormenting times, the I’m-so-happy-I-have-sprinkles-on-my-ice-cream-cone times, and the run-of-the-mill, regular, in-between times of life.
I guess part of It we could just label as (or write off as) “that’s life.”
That’s the way it goes sometimes, for sure.
 Perhaps, the up’s and down’s and all-around’s are just what life’s made up of.
However, sometimes, the “feasts” and “famines” of life are direct results of our faulty mental decisions and flighty emotional choices, which lead to physical actions and spiritual (or unspiritual! Eeee.) life REactions. After all, you reap what you sow, right? Another way of saying it, like my dear sweet Grandma Murphy used to quote, “You make your bed…. Now, you lay in it!” [haha, ohh grandma memories… love them!]
However, far below the surface of our own wants, desires, causes, and effects, lies the stark reality that God is not only present as a director-of-sorts on the stage of life; rather, He’s the script-writer. Nothing happens that skips His attention or overrides His sovereignty.
In other words, the “feasts” and “famines” of our lives are directly ordered, packaged, sealed, and shipped to our little houses as result of God, out of His deep love for us, reaching down and hugging our lives with His sometimes painfully-heart-wrenching, yet-fully-needed-and-necessary interventions. (For further evidence of this truth, see the entire book of Job.)
Regardless of the exact origin of our lives’ feasts and famines, they each serve as reminders to us.
A reminder that we’re all frail.
That we’re human by nature.
That we’re broken by choice.
 That we’re subject to roller-coaster emotions and cotton-candy-like feelings.
All of that to say: our frailty, our human nature, our brokenness, and our ever-changing emotions and feelings draw us to a solid, divine, whole, perfect, complete, holy, and unchanging God.
Buuuuut…..not only do these times in our lives serve as reminders, they. each. have. a. purpose. While I can no more give you the A,B,Cs or the 1,2,3s as to “why” God’s permitting/orchestrating such-in-such situation(s) in your life right now than the next girl, I can give you this hope:  God is ever-present. and ever-loving. He came to die so that you could live. And not just live any life, or have a hope of eternal life (though both of those are included!),…. He came to give you life, so you could live it MORE ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10b).  This time in your life is divinely purposeful for your ultimate good and His ultimate glory.
Today, in whatever season of life you’re in, find a reason to rest in God’s goodness. And don’t just take my word for it, either. Taste and see for yourself. KNOW that He is God. He is oh-so-gooood. And He’s is using your current life’s circumstances to remind you not only that you’re frail, but also that you’re HIS. And while you’re at it, know this: His purposes for you and your life are much higher and greater than anything you even have the ability to conceive or imagine on your own.
With all that rambling to the forefront, I close with this thought:
At the end of the day and now that I’m looking back, I wouldn’t’ve traded my awkwardly, out-of-the-blue sad day today for anything because it was used to draw me closer to the Creator of my day. Thank you, Jesus, that you don’t waste a single little thing.
Ohhh, I just wonder, what's He using to draw you closer to Him today?