Waking Up Whiny

Waking up Whiny: What Lipgloss Teaches about Life

This morning was a strange event for me. Let me explain: I'm typically a morning person during seasons of routine and order in my life. And I'm (for the most part) a go-getter, once I finally make it out of bed on my not-so-structured-summer mornings as well. But this morning was different.

For some strange reason, I woke up whiny. Thankfully, I'm currently living roommate-less, so no one was around to see or hear me. (To clarify, I wasn't talking aloud to myself. The whininess was really more revealed in my attitude and thoughts. But still.)

If you're anything like me, you probably forget all-the-time the presence of the Lord. And how it is He that is always with you. He, Who always goes before you. He, Who is a a Shelter in the times of storm. He, Who is your Rear-guard and your Defender. He, Who overwhelms and satisfies your soul. He, Whose joy gives you strength. He, Whose salvation brings you hope. And He, Whose omnipresence hears, sees, and knows all of your whiny-wake-up-moments. Yet, He loves you just the same.

As least, I know I  temporarily forgot all of those things this morning.

So, here I am, this morning, waking up all-six-year-old-and-whiny-like. Some may call it "waking up on the wrong side of the bed." Some may even remedy it by going back to bed. Any way you call it or any way you look at it, my attitude had nothing to do with my bed, the amount of rest I had last night, or any of my surrounding circumstances at all. This morning, my attitude had everything to do with ME.

And I'm not talking about the outside ME that everyone sees smiling and somewhat put-together. I'm talking about the inside ME that only God and I see and know. The ME that never seems to be all put-together.

It gets worse. You may be wondering, "What made you so whiny this morning?" I'm not really glad you asked, but here goes…

The source of today's pouty-ness was so trivial that I'm embarrassed to share it, but I feel the need to share because of what God taught me through it.

The reason I woke up whiny this morning is this: I noticed this morning as I was getting ready for the day that I am rapidly running out of my favorite lip gloss. There it is. That's what controlled me this morning.

To further explain, I only own one lip gloss and once that's done, then I'm onto the reserves of chap-stick. Chap-stick is a winter necessity, not a summer commodity. Just as I was getting my panties in a wad over how expensive life was getting to be these days and the inconvenience of having to get some more $6-$8 lipgloss, God convicted me. Here's what He told my heart:

It's not about the sheen on your lips, Rosemary.

It's about the sheen over your heart.

You see, right around the same time of my horrible-attitude-over-lipgloss-for-crying-out-loud fiasco this morning, a friend texted me, thanking me for my prayers for her sick-and-dying family pet. Another friend mentioned how sweet she thought I was for offering to help with packing and moving. And a third (Yes, God really drove His point home to me via friend text messages this morning!) text came through, acknowledging thanks for my friendship and godly example over the years. 

All that to say this: It's as easy to throw a sheen on our hearts, pretending everything's okay, as it is to apply lip gloss and look good for the world around us. At the end of the day, the lip gloss fades. (News Flash: You'll eventually have to buy more. Sigh.) Heart-attitudes surface. What you once thought would be concealed and hidden will be exposed and open for all to plainly see.

Despite the Godly friendships in my life and the compliments via text messages this morning, my heart was rotten. My attitude was stinky. My right standing with God set off on the wrong foot this morning. And my God was ever-faithful and loving enough to let me know about it.

After acknowledging all of this and being convicted this morning, I had no where else to turn but David's cry/prayer in Psalm 51:10. Here it is in the KJV translation: 

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

(Warning: The grammar teacher inside of me is about to have class.)

Re-read those sentences.

Notice the action verbs: create and renew.

Who is the subject of these thoughts?

God is, right?

Notice what it's all about. It's not about us covering the undesirable parts with a sheen. 

It's about Him creating something new inside of us, making us clean.

(You're welcome for that rhyme, but seriously.)

It's about Him renewing a right spirit inside of us, as we ask, beg, and call upon Him to do so.

Whether it's lip gloss or layers of heart sheen, in both instances, know that He already knows what's underneath.

Stop waking up cranky over things as petty as lip gloss (or fill-in-the-blank), and join with me in allowing Him to do His work in our hearts today.

Inspiration from an Unlikely Source (i.e. Cashier-Man-Gil)

Interesting, isn’t it, the places people will go and the things people will do to “get inspired.”

For many, inspiration comes from the Bible. As it ultimately should.

For most women, teachers, and men who feel strong in their manhood, inspiration comes Pinterest.

(Side note: After testing out a Pinterest idea of putting brown sugar in my hair to “straighten” it and only coming away with sticky hair and a leftover bottle of home-made ridiculousness, I suggest everyone proceed on Pinterest with cautionary measures. I know I do. Now, anyway.)

For some, inspiration naturally flows from music or poetry or nature or the like.

For others still, inspiration is birthed into their hearts and lives through a heart-stirring story, an act of heroism, or a random act of kindness experienced or observed.

If I’m being honest, I’ve been guilty of all of the above ways to find ideas, get involved and interested in something beyond myself, and become inspired by the creativity of others, my surroundings, and My Savior (the Creator and Mastermind behind it all).

However, for me today, inspiration came from the most unlikely of sources.

Wal-mart.

Yeah, you read that right.

While I’m taking you down this dirt road of unlikely chances that people at places like Wal-mart can inspire you, let me just throw this at you: did you know that Wal-mart’s slogan is “Save More. Live Better.”?

I’m afraid that all-too-often most people only obtain cheap deals and collect there’s-no-possible-way-I-could-be-making-this-up kind of stories and pictures from their Wal-mart trips. In other words, they only cash in on the first part of Wal-mart’s slogan. “Save More.” Literally. They cash in. Get it? :)

But not this girl. Not today, anyway. Today, I got the privilege to experience the second half of that slogan as well. “Live Better.” It’s a stretch, for sure, but stick with me for a moment.

So…..what in the world could’ve inspired me so much in Wal-mart today? (You may be asking.)

Good question. The answer comes to us by way of a little cashier man at register 7 named Gil.

Alright. Back up. Let me set the stage.

Setting: Wal-mart, enough said

Scenario: A woman, obviously wearing her cranky pants this morning, was standing in front of me in line and had two VERY long and complicated orders. (She may as well buy a tent for as long as she was deciding to camp out at the register…. I almost suggested that very thing to her when…) Out of nowhere, Cashier-Man-Gil entered the scene and stepped up to the plate to make a homerun out of this situation.

Rather than get annoyed at this woman’s complications or responding to her crankiness, Cashier-Man-Gil started singing. That’s right. He started singing out her order to her. He sang the name of the products. He sang out the prices of each individual item. Everything that passed through Gil’s hands or through his line of vision quickly became a part in his ever-growing, impromptu, sing-song-y, broken-English mantra. The woman, needless to say, was not impressed. Apparently, her cranky pants were held up by some you-can’t-make-me-satisfied suspenders because I don’t recall her ever cracking a smile. I, on the other hand, was more than amused with Gil’s antics. I even began to giggle. Loudly. This egged him on to sing more loudly, which I’m certain didn’t help the whole situation.

But, what can I say? He humored me.

When it was finally my turn to be checked out, he thanked me three times for “being patience” with him. I told him I thought he seemed to be having a good day, and it was nice to see he was content with his job. Now that I think back on it, I wonder how much he understood what I said, but I do remember his reply. Handing me the receipt, he smiled back at me and simply said, “You come back. I cannot WAIT to serve you again!” with all the sincerity a voice could carry.

And as simple as that, I left Wal-mart a happy and inspired woman. Today, I “Saved More” at Wal-mart (of course), but I also learned a little bit more of what it means to “Live Better.“

All it took was a man, who could barely speak English, whose presence spoke, served, and sang the language of inspiration by just the breath of who he was.

I wonder… who inspires you today?

What do they do that makes them inspirational to you?

What can you do to inspire those around you today?

It doesn’t take much. Much like the big, complicated Wal-mart order that was turned into a party through Gil’s singing, remember that the big things in life are always envelope-d by what you do with and how you handle the small things in life.

As Christians, we have more than enough reason to encourage and inspire those around us. This may or may not be the sort of thing Christ was talking about in Matthew 5:14-16:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

With all said and reviewed, do whatever you need to do to be an inspiration to people today. Show the world a response that goes against the grain and breathes new life into tough situations.

Our world needs more light.

Our world needs more love.

Our world needs more inspirational people singing at register 7, figuratively speaking.

Shine your light by the way you live your life.

You never know whose life may be in need of a little inspiration today.

Rain, Target Umbrellas, and a Shelter in the Time of Storms

Today, once again, I found myself scurrying from the front doors of the local Target Superstore to the front seat of my car. In a thunderstorm. As it happened, I couldn't help but laugh at myself and how-very-often this scenario repeats in my life.

Without a doubt, it always seems to be raining when I enter/exit a Target. Some may excuse this away as being "Florida summer weather;" however, it's happened to me in other seasons, too. And it's even happened to me in other states. In fact, when I lived in Lynchburg,Virginia before, I got to the point where I had to resolve to getting soaking-wet because I absolutely refused to buy yet-another Target-branded umbrella. My umbrella collection was getting to be quite extensive and unruly. And, oddly enough, my umbrellas were quite inaccessible when I needed them the most. They always happened to be in the coat closet at home. Or in the closet of my classroom. Or in the trunk of my car. You know, conveniently tucked anywhere but where I needed them when I needed them. No big deal. Until I got super-soaking wet. And grumpy. And began to blame myself for not preparing better, not checking the forecast, and simply not knowing better. Then, it became a big deal suddenly, and I decided to do something about it.

Enter the the season of my life where I bought and carried extra large purses solely to accommodate the extra space and weight of an all-time go-to umbrella at-hand. This season of the weather forecasts was also affectionately termed "the drought" because it seemingly didn't rain on the Earth for about 2 years that I can remember carrying umbrellas in my over-sized purses.

Of course, I'm taking things slightly overboard and being a tad bit dramatic, but it serves a purpose. Today, after rushing to my car in the rain. I turned on the radio and heard one of my favorite songs "Lord, I Need You" by Matt Maher.

If you haven't heard it before, I encourage you to listen to it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuvfMDhTyMA

As I listened, I was reminded of the goodness of God. And how I need Him. Oh, how I need Him. Very much unlike an umbrella, I need Him every hour, every minute. I need Him. He's my One Defense against the storms of life. But how often I forget that and tend to lean on my own attempts (running, holding onto Target-made umbrellas, weighing down my purses with excessive precautions for rains that may or may not come) to keep me dry in stormy seasons of life.

I don't know about you, but I'm learning to be thankful for the rain.
I'm learning to be thankful for Target umbrellas.
Ultimately, I'm learning to be ever-mindful and ever-thankful to serve a God that is dependable every hour of my life. He's not just someone I run to when the rains come. Or someone I call on after my attempts and Target umbrellas haven't cut it to protect me from the storms of life. He's my Shelter in the Time of Storms, yes. But He's also the God I need.

Come rain or shine, every hour, I need Him.