"I yam what I yam!" — Popeye

Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. from Romans 12: 2


Another nibble from Romans 12

Do you like a phony? Not me! Last night’s Netflix viewing, Love Happens, was a case in point for sincerity …… especially when you write a bestseller and are rolling in the bucks (or £). But even if that’s not the case, who wants to make room for hypocrisy in your heart department? I find it exciting, incredible, and absolutely amazing that the Creator of the universe is creating a new me …..from the inside out. Wow! That should fills us with hope, confidence, and a sense of deep love—all from God.
Mimi D

A little something extra: I sometimes find I am thinking in cheers, or bumpersticker language. Here's an example, "Lent, well spent, will lead us to repent."  It's also the best preparation for  meaningful Easter.

24/7 with God

What season are you in? You may say late winter, early spring, empty nest, TAX, etc. Do you remember that we are also in the season of Lent and that makes it a great reason to read, ponder, chew on, reflect, and meditate on the 12th chapter of Romans, a handy plumb line of God. I do all of the above after reading a verse or two—too much and I might gag!—from several different versions of the Bible courtesy of biblegateway.com.


Romans 12

Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.



Giving God our 24/7 assures our progress towards spiritual maturity, which is really just a fancy way of saying being who God wants you to be. When we habitually respond to God quickly as he beckons the worm of selfishness diminishes, the dragon of doubt scurries, forgiveness flourishes, and the love of God increases in our actions.

If you don't believe me, don't take my word for it—try it!

Mimi D

A Really Great Reason to Journal

Remember the wonders He has done….. In the early 1980’s I had read through Colossians and looking for every time it stated Christ in you, the hope of glory There are a lot of them and as I read. I got excited. Yes, VERY excited! The thought that the Creator of the universe, the one who gave His life for me, the One who comes along side to strength, comfort, guide and correct resides within me and that His plan was for me to represent Him in the world was something to get excited about! That I would bring God glory was over the top!
During this time, an acquaintance asked what miracle I thought was the most spectacular I answered, “Christ in me, the hope of glory!” As I went on and on in my explanation of it, I think, she became sorry that she had asked! I believe that our excitement over God’s word should be a subject for show and tell. I don’t know how to glory in God and not show excitement and tell about it!
Fast forward twenty years in my life. I’m still hiking my trail of pursuing a rich and fulfilling life in the Lord. I once again come to a side trail entitled, Colossians. The first thing I think of is my golden nugget that I treasure so much “Christ in me. my hope of glory!” Yes, I’m still excited about it. No problem in being led to take this loop again for I know the many beautiful vistas which I will see as I have become more familiar with it than twenty years ago. I pick up the Message and read through the four chapters.* I found it so exciting and rich that I read again at an incredibly slow pace. As I read and savor a few verses at a time during this read through, one passage is in neon lights: Colossians 3:12-14.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

As I pondered this passage, I had a funny mini video run on the screen of my mind—a fashion runway for Christians set up in the center of a shopping mall. From the angel on the left of the stage, in a broadcast booth, halo glowing, minor wings a flutter, sharing his message with all who would listen. “And the signature line of this year’s Designer clothes from the Kingdom line of apparel is the classic look of love. You will be missing the mark of eternal Kingdom wear without it! Found in all shades, sizes, and styles, without the basic love of the creator undergirding your compassionate cape, your kindness kilt, or your humble fishnet hosiery, your outfit will be incomplete in the eyes of the One who you desire to please. Believe me I know about these things.” Then I noticed his halo was worn in a rakish fashion and his identity badge had ‘apprentice of school of humility’ stamped on it. I had the odd feeling that it wasn’t his first year in the course and that maybe my current badge bore the same stamp.

Choose Kingdom apparel. Christ in you is the hope of God’s glory, drawing all men unto himself. Make the decision to put on His wardrobe today and everyday.
* Which I strongly suggest to you to do!

Blessings on you and your day!
Mimi

Going out in style

The next morning we knew something special was up when the missus started thinking out loud about dinner before finishing her second cup of java. When applesauce returned with half of his jar gone and some red Jell-O sprinkled with nuts joined us Tofu got excited and shouted, “Must be company’s coming’ and that definitely lets us off the hook, my dear little tofu-substitute friend! She’s not going to serve leftovers to company and besides, there’s not enough of you left to feed more than two.” I wondered how tofu had become so knowledgeable about the D’Trics. I finally got up the nerve to ask him. With a laugh from his little jiggily body he told me, “The missus had read in a magazine article that I am good for people so she decided to give me a try. But so far, she hasn’t got up the nerve to spring me on her hubby! I’m sure I’m safe for quite awhile!”

The day flew by as we visited with every one, including Jorge, a blue rubber gecko that is placed on whatever food the missus wants her hubby to eat up at lunch. From Jorge we found out what more of the world beyond the darkness looks like, including the whole other closet in the kitchen, known as a pantry. It is where Jerky, my second-cousins lives.

When the missus got home, we hardly noticed any change in her usual routine until she started to get out dishes while mumbling to herself, “We had decided we should use the china at least once a month and here January is almost gone. There’s still enough of that nice little roast to slice it thin and serve it for dinner along with mashed potatoes, gravy and a veggie. That will be a meal worthy of thc good china. When I arrived at the table, the room was lit up with candlepower. The missus had Andy Williams on the stereo, crooning softly. I thought, “You know if you got go you might as well do it with style and grace!”

Epilogue
Tofu was relegated to the vegetable drawer, a safe ‘out of sight out of mind’ place and is said to have survived two of the missus refrigerator clean outs. During the third one, his demise was quick and sure.

Not totally loco

continued....

We all agreed that it was a ukulele accompanying the soothing voice and the crashing waves; I was hopeful that the missus would forget about me, nestled snuggly between the tofu and wheat germ. Someone with a high pitched green voice laughed, “The missus hasn’t had time to think of supper today. Maybe she’ll just make reservations.” Everyone around me was laughing but I didn’t know what reservations are. Finally ketchup that was turning redder and redder whispered, “That’s when cooking the food is someone else


s concern. We don’t know where they go but they always come back with a small white box that stays in our hood a couple of days and then leaves never to be seen again.

Then we heard the music get cranked up, we could feel the vibrations as the missus hula-ed around the kitchen. With fond memories of a belated Hawaiian honeymoon trip, the missus cried out, “It’s a perfect loco moco evening. I’ll just use some of that delicious roast as a sub for the ground beef!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! From the same person who had lovingly massaged me with onion soup just a few days ago was now insulting me with the most disparaging insult—me, subbing for that lazy, cousin of mine who changed his name after inheriting some dough. Tofu tried to calm me down. “You will have a soft fluffy bed of rice to lay on and you’ll be covered with warm suntan oil. And you won’t be alone. The missus will want an egg for her ‘authentic’ moco loco.” Changing the subject to get my mind off the inevitable, I asked where yogurt was. Tofu said for me not to worry about yogurt. Yogurts that are more active would be moving in soon. I heard a chorus of “alohas from the out of date bottles who are known to live on the edge.

Coming soon the conclusion...."Going out in style!"

Red or Green?

I was happy to be back in the hood…trimmed down but still recognizable. I guess the missus thought about the temptation that I might pose as the mister has a different lunch schedule than hers and may ‘forget’ the warning so I was placed in a cozy corner where she knew I would be safe—my neighbors were fellas the mister and I had never met: someone called yogurt, wheat germ, and tofu. When the door to our hood was opened through out the day and the sun shined on us we saw glimpses of a cloudy day for the mister and missus. We thought, “cloudy with a chance of meatballs” but as the chit chat of after-work continued outside our hood, music with a salsa beat began to accompany the chatter. The tofu, yogurt, and wheat germ who had been quite chatty throughout the day inched their protective circle closer around me. The tofu whispered, “It all depends on if it’s red or green, enchiladas that is. Green and it’s goodbye to Senor pollo, who to hear him talk was a real strutter in his day. But red….”


.I held my breath as the missus opened the frig saying, “What a perfect day for enchiladas! I’m so glad that Del returned my casserole dish with two containers of fresh red chile.” The dreadful red had come true! Pulling out tortillas, cheese, onions, and red chile concentrate, the missus said, “And a little bit of that roast beef will be perfect.” The wheat germ whispered as she was moved aside saying, “Don’t worry! Most of you will be back. This is as close as these two get to a meatless supper!” to be continued

My week with the D'trics

Like most guests, I was welcomed into the D'trics' home with a hearty handshake, even a hug, and then left to rest up a bit and settle in. It was a bit cooler than I was used to but I adjusted pretty quickly and enjoyed looking around at the new scenery. These D'trics seem to be quite the collectors of things past the date where most folks think of them as unusable.


I was feeling quite rested when I heard the missus say something about dinner and crackpots (once again I had been fooled by that accent of hers—she meant crock pot!). Anywho, it felt good to be massaged by her loving hands with dry onion soup (great for exfoliation) then wrapped in a bright shiny new outfit from head to toe, and sent off to a sauna, of sorts.

I was on a high for about an hour with my new found warmth. Before the missus left for work she turned my sauna down a bit.. The cool down to low was welcomed She promised to be back to check on my condition in the early afternoon. I was lulled to sleep by the lovely aroma of onion soup that had permeated my skin and the increasing warmth of my sauna.

True to her word, the missus was back by 2 and lowered my sauna temp just a bit to keep me warm. I had been sweating quite a bit by this time and really would have liked a glass of ice tea but instead I was served up with one a couple of hours later. I was whittled on which left me with mixed feelings to be quite truthful, but the ooh’s and aah I received compensated for my lost heartiness— about a third of my beautiful grain fed body was gone. I had been jealous of my ‘butcher trimmed’ cousins for years. Slim and trim they hardly sweated a drop when in, on, or under fire the heat. The Mister kept talking about leftovers for lunch. His tone of excitement and delight caused me some consternation but I perked up when the missus said, “Hands off, buddy! I’ve got plans for this little guy!” to be continued……