Thought So!

Now Where Did I Put My Perspective?

As a child, I visited a distant relative’s mink farm.  My memory of that farm was of a building full of caged, noisy, smelly animals, and of being told not to get to close to the cages, or the mink would bite.

Would you like a goat in your backyard?  I’m sure you goat people out there would stand in their defense (I would stand outside de fense), but I can do without a smelly, obstinate animal butting me and trying to eat my clothes.

Worms, anyone?  Now there’s a tempting thought—growing them for a living.  I find enough in my garden (when I do garden) to last me a lifetime.

I recently walked through a very high-end store in a very high-end mall, just to look at what some people buy.  Sales Associates wearing black, high-end clothes were scurrying around, looking very important (as I’m sure they were.  Looking after hangers-full of mink, fox, silk worms, etc. could be very stressful, especially if any of them went missing—the clothing, not the critters).

I also walked through a store that sold nothing but cashmere stuff.  (I contemplated buying something, but realized that it was either buy the sweater, or feed my family for a year). 

Isn’t it amazing how important and worthy these little creatures have become, yet God loves you even more than these, His creation.  We never have to impress Him.  He even loves you if you don’t have a mink hanging in your closet. 

(Hey—don’t get me wrong.  I’m not against people having silk blouses, etc., and I’m not out to eradicate mink or worms.  And if someone out there was just getting ready to box up a couple of cashmere sweaters for me, my best color is green.  Or blue.)

© Thought So!

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Mind Your Own Mind

My mind doesn’t just wander, it often books the next flight out of the country.  Sometimes I’ll end up with something flopping around in my brain and I’ll wonder “What file drawer did that come from?”   Like one day last month when my old Jr. High football fight song popped in, complete with all the words (Okay… remind me why I needed that ever again?).

Much of what surfaces is mental junk mail (after I prided myself on the fact that I could—at 50—actually remember all the words, accompanied by a few faux cheerleader arm motions, I forgot about it).  Sometimes, other stuff floats in that isn’t so innocuous (especially if we let it hang around awhile).  It can get into our hearts and make a big mess.  Scripture is powerful, so get rid of those troublesome thoughts by quoting a Bible verse, or (if you can’t remember it), look it up.  Meditate on it (Joshua 1:8).  Isn’t that one reason we memorize them, to avoid sinning against God?  There are plenty of verses for all of us, so we really don’t have an excuse.

Oh, and no fair using this as an excuse to run for a huge bowl of ice-cream—brain-freeze doesn’t work.

© Thought So!

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Betta Clean Your Glass

Have you ever watched a Betta?  I felt sorry for ours, circling aimlessly in his small bowl of fake rocks and one plastic plant.  Thinking to liven up his life, I took my cylindrical reading-glasses case and stood it on end near his bowl. 

Finny (no, I did not name him), cruised up to the glass, then dove into his fake rocks.  Suddenly he was out again, darting around the bowl, and beginning to do his Betta thing—puffing up and changing colors.  I again took pity on him and removed the outdoor entertainment, but not before I looked at it from his vantage point. What I thought might have looked like an underwater silo was more like the massive Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz, and I understood his panic.

Sometimes we can’t clearly see obstacles in our lives.  They look huge.  We may not understand why they’re there, or how long they’ll be there.  Sometimes the waters of affliction magnify troubles and we end up swimming in circles, hyperventilating and trying to escape.

But, as Christians, we must grab hold of the promise that we are anchored in Christ, Who keeps our soul “steadfast and sure while the billows roll.”  And someday, we will trade in our murky view for perfect vision.

Until then, keep the Windex handy.

© Thought So!

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“If I’ve Told You Once…”

I’d like to have a chocolate chip for every time I’ve had to repeat myself to my kids:

“Take your back-packs upstairs.”

“Fold these clothes on the dryer.”

“Fill the ice-cube trays.”

It’s a very important mom-thing to do, and unless you’re going to have your kid sign an oath in blood that he will remember to bring home all of his homework from school every day for the rest of his life, you’ll probably have to keep reminding.

God’s Word is full of verses and phrases echoed from Old to New Testament, from Psalm to Psalm, and from verse to verse.  Was God just trying to fill up space so we would have 66 books?  Did He forget that He had already asked another writer to say the same thing?  Of course not.  It’s all there for those of us (that would be all of us!) who need to be reminded over and over again.  So don’t skip over that verse or passage that you’ve read before, especially if you’ve memorized it.  Ask the Lord to help you see it in a new light.

Now go…read—and don’t make me tell you twice.

© Thought So!

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