LIZARD HIDE-N-SEEK

Yes, it's what it sounds like.

Makes for a good story, though.

Wanna hear it?

It started off innocently enough.  "The Hub" was outside working in the backyard, and I thought I'd go keep him company.

Things were fine when I was outside.  It was when I decided to come back in the house that the shenanigans started.

We have a door from the backyard that enters into our main room.  And in the mountains, there's no "demilitarized zone" between yard and house – no safe patio break.  It goes from outside yard (mountain wildness) right into house (domesticated abode).

As soon as I opened the door, I noticed a tiny little lizard run over the door jamb – right into the main room of our house.

OK, yes, I did say tiny – he was only about 2 inches long.  So, he didn't really warrant an *eek* from me.  (A totally different scenario than the time I chased a HUGE foot-long lizard out of my house down the hill…)

So, I wasn't scared of Tiny Mr. Lizard.  Just more panicky about how we were going to get him back outside.  We, of course, meaning "The Hub".

My big brave Reptile Hunter walked into the house to give chase.  I stayed outside and looked at the safari through a window.  Man, that little guy could move!

"The Hub" gave a valiant effort trying to trap him.  He scooted away fast, but then promptly reversed direction when cornered.  I saw "The Hub" chase him into the corner…

Oh no, I thought…

I came in and "The Hub" said to me, "I don't know where he went."

I did.

"Uh, hon, I think he went down through the heat register into the heat duct."

Yeah.

"Well, he'll probably come out later."

That was the Great Herpetologist's assessment of the situation (as he went back outside).  It wasn't good enough for me.

So, I waited a minute or two, then went over and looked at the register. There, peeking back at me from inside the grate, were two tiny little beady eyes.  I ran outside again to get "The Hub"…

"I see him," I said.  "He's in the register."

Of course, just as we came back inside, the little guy was poking his head out of the register, preparing to make a hasty exit.  And, of course, when he saw us, he ran back into the duct.  This time, I couldn't see him.

Oh, but I could hear him.

Scratchy, scratchy.

We took the register off the duct, and Tiny Mr. Lizard was nowhere to be seen.

"The Hub" wasn't particularly worried.

I conjured up several dire outcomes:

The tiny lizard would grow up into a big lizard and crawl over me in my sleep some night.

The tiny lizard would grow up into a big lizard and chew through the brand-new ducting.

The tiny lizard would NOT grow up into a big lizard because he would die in the brand-new ducting.

The tiny lizard would NOT grow up into a big lizard because we would fry him when we turned on the heating next time.  (Does fried lizard smell anything like frogs' legs???)

Sigh.

"The Hub" figured that he was too small to climb out by himself – the ducting was too slippery.  So he put a towel down the *chute* in case the little guy needed something to grab on to.

We waited…no show.

Then I had the brilliant idea to turn the fan on.  Maybe we could "blow" him out, I reasoned.

So, we turned on the fan and waited.

"The Hub" went back outside.  I waited some more, and then went over to check the towel.  Nope, didn't see him.  But then…

AHA!

Almost completely camouflaged in the rug was Tiny Mr. Lizard clinging to the side of the opening in the floor.

I rushed back outside (yet again) to get the Reptile Wrangler.  This time he gently poked the little guy with a stick, and kindly prodded him out into the open.  The lizard was cold because of the air from the fan, so he moved very slowly.

"The Hub" successfully caught the tiny little booger.  I have to admit, up close and personal he was really cute.

We re-released him into the wild, where I'm sure he'll grow up into a big lizard.  Maybe he'll come back and say "Hi" someday.

You gotta know there's a lesson in this, don't you?

I pondered later how much effort we had put into chasing down one tiny little lizard.  We did an exhaustive search, capture, and re-locate mission. Why?  Well, because we knew that though he was very, very small, Mr. Tiny Lizard could potentially cause some big problems.

Isn't it like that with sin?

Especially those tiny sins, that don't seem very threatening.  

Little doubts.

Small white lies.

A tidbit of gossip.

Harmless flirtations.

You know what I'm talking about…

We just don't think they're that big a deal.  We figure that they'll work themselves out sooner or later.  No harm, no foul.  So often, we don't even bother chasing them down.

But small sins can eventually cause some big problems.

Tiny lizards are pests – potential home-wreckers.

Tiny sins are potential heart-wreckers.  They can wreak havoc on our spiritual ducting.

So we do well to hunt them down and capture them and re-locate them outside!


Do you have any *tiny sin* that needs to be hunted down and removed from your life?


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

"FAN THE FLAME" FRIDAY - Guilty

Welcome to "Fan the Flame" Friday.

This is a weekly post that will be "short and sweet" (kinda like me...)

Just a word and a phrase, a sentence or a question...just a little something to "fan the flame" of your creativity!


Today's word: guilty

What are some typical ways we deal with guilty feelings?

Why is it tempting to ignore a guilty conscience?

What is the difference between productive guilty feelings and harmful guilty feelings?

What does it mean to you to be declared, "NOT GUILTY"?

(These questions were prompted by my Bible Study this week in the book of Ezra)


Let me know what you think!!


"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

NO VACANCY

Weary, hungry, desperate, in pain –

Those words probably sum up how Mary and Joseph were feeling as they searched for a place to stay in Bethlehem.

There was no room.

Except…for one small and dark place, a manger.

I can remember an incident like this in my life. Many years ago, my family took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. Then we snaked through Idaho and Oregon, and finally returned home, traveling down the length of California. The previous year we had taken a loooonnnggg trek – 5,445 miles in 9 days. This year, trying to find a way to "top" that trip, we decided that we wouldn't book any motels ahead of time.

It was going to be a "fly by the seat of your pants" adventure.

Well, it worked out well for the most part. Except for one very long day. We'd been on the road for hours (not like 4 or 5, more like 10 or 12) – and we just wanted to stop. Finally we arrived in a town in the middle of Idaho.

Driving around street after street, all we saw were neon red "NO VACANCY" signs. It got discouraging – and then despair set in as we contemplated sleeping in the car.

Finally, we found a hotel that still said "VACANCY." It was like 1:30 AM now, and I'm sure the proprietor loved being woken up at that time! Yes, he had only one room available. But, there was a hitch. It was the "Whirlpool Suite" – $$$. However, after some discussion (haggling and bullying), he agreed to give it to us at the price of a regular room.

Let me tell you, at this point I would have settled for the "Toilet Bowl" room – I was exhausted.

So, the four of us piled into that room – with one queen bed – and a whirlpool in the corner. Tired and sore little feet soaked in the tub – and finally one father and two sons shared the bed, while Mom slept in a chaise chair.

It wasn't the most luxurious room I've ever been in – but it may have been the one that I was the most grateful for.

So, Mary and Joseph finally arrive at their pre-ordained destination – and the Savior is born.

I ponder this…

Isn't Jesus still looking for room at the inn?

Isn't He still knocking on the doors to hearts?

How often is He being greeted with the sign, "NO VACANCY"?

How many 5-star hearts – with their wealth, and fancy lifestyles – say to Him, "Oh, sorry, sir – there's no room for you here. And to tell you the truth, you just wouldn't fit in anyway."

What about those AAA-rated 2 or 3 star places? With their frantic career-making, child-raising, middle-class lifestyles. Do they say to Him, "Oh, sorry, buddy – haven't had time to fix up a room for you."

How many times does Jesus come to person after person, only to be rejected by the sad and sorry words, "No room."

To so many He is nothing more than a vagrant – an inconvenience, an embarrassment, a pest. He doesn't belong in the "beautiful surroundings" of many lives. He doesn't fit into busy schedules and self-important goals. He isn't appealing to the plush and poshy people of pretensions.

It occurs to me that Jesus was not meant to come to the comfortable.

He came for those who are like Mary and Joseph – weary, hungry, desperate, in pain.

He comes to the humble places. The dark corners that no one ever thinks about, or that they frantically try to hide – from others and from themselves.

The heart is like a manger.

Secret, secluded, sometimes lonely and dirty.

Jesus wants to come there.

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…" (Revelation 3:20)

We have to hear the knocking, we have to open the door.

This is true of all people.

Some need to open the door to salvation. We believers have to open the door to sanctification.

We have to put ourselves aside for Jesus to arrive and abide in our hearts.

Oh, dear Lord, yes – there is room…

What will you say to Jesus when He comes knocking? Are you open for business?

(I am linked today with Joan - just "SHARING HIS BEAUTY")

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

BIBLE PICK 'EMS - I Remember

I remember.

There are some events in life that are so shocking, so incomprehensible, that they are forever imprinted on our minds and our lives.

September 11, 2001 was just such a moment.

I woke up that morning to what seemed like a normal day. I put on a semblance of a "face" as my youngest prepared for school. We piled into the car, and headed over to pick up the two brothers we car-pooled with. We arrived, I honked the car, and we waited…

…and waited.

Finally, one of the brothers came to the car. Just as he was climbing in, his brother rushed out.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked. "I was worried that we were going to be late."

All of a sudden they both started telling me how a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers, and it was burning, and it looked like our country was under attack…

"Yeah, right," I said. I thought they were joking, or that they'd been playing some video game.

Somberly they replied, "No, it's really happening."

We flipped on the radio. And the tragic story began to unfold. As soon as I got home, I turned on the television.

And there I sat, glued to the screen, for the next two months.

You remember, it was stunning, mesmerizing, surreal, and so very, very tragic.

I think, in some way, every American citizen felt those planes crash into their own lives – and security and blind innocence burned to the ground. Our country would never be the same…

But we recovered – scarred and more wary, yes – but we still stood strong as a nation.

What happened?

I'm sorry, but I don't think this country learned the most important lesson of 9/11. It didn't turn back to God. Maybe temporarily, yes – but a life-changing repentance, a confession of sin and a resolve to live by moral, Christian values? Not so much.

We cannot afford to miss the message of 9/11. Evil can reach our shores and decimate us on our own "turf." We are perhaps more vulnerable than we think. But most of all, we have forgotten our God, in whom we should trust.

Today's "Bible Pick 'Ems" – though originally a message given to the nation of Israel through the prophet, Jeremiah – should serve as a warning to us, too:

"'I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have…filled my territory with their evil deeds…Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might. At last they will know that I am the LORD.'"

(Jeremiah 16:17-18, 21)

I feel like America, and the world itself, is half-asleep – dozing comfortably in a sin-soaked dream. We're calmly hitting the *snooze button* on the alarm that's trying to alert us to danger.

I shudder to think what a "wake-up call" might look like.

Yes, let's take today and remember all those people – civilians and rescuers – who lost their lives on that terrible day. Let's remember the people they left behind. Let's stop and honor all the people who have fought since that day for the cause of freedom.

Let's erect a proud ***star-spangled banner*** in our hearts, and stand tall as a nation.

But, I pray that we do one more thing – the most important thing.

I pray that we remember our LORD, the Almighty God of Heaven's Armies, the one true God that rules over all the world in His Sovereignty.

May we as a nation, and as individuals, remember and turn back – back to Him.

Back to true worship, back to His Holy Word, back to faith in His Son, back to right living and godly values.

Let us say along with Jeremiah, the words of a people wholly devoted to God:

"LORD, you are [our] strength and fortress, [our] refuge in the day of trouble!

Nations from around the world will come to you and say, 'Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage, for they worshiped worthless idols…'

But we worship at your throne – eternal, high, and glorious!

O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced…for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.

…[but] blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water." (From Jeremiah 17)

Yes, I remember.

Where were you on 9/11?

And on this anniversary, what is your resolve about worshiping the Lord?

"When in doubt, search God out."