Shhh... I've Got a Secret

I think we all harbor deep dark secrets, and of all the world, I think Christians are the worst for it.  We think or do things that, if confessed aloud, we fear, will make others think we have doubts about our faith or about who God is.  "Maybe we really don't love Him," we agonize.  That kind of misguided thinking can leave serious questions unanswered and, worst case scenario, can snowball into a big, wide open door for Satan to waltz through and really install some doubts about God, salvation, eternal life -- whatever!

Here's mine -- maybe silly, maybe sort of childish (kind of like the first time you realized Santa Claus couldn't possibly fit all that stuff in his sleigh, or make all those stops in one night):

I don't like gold - at all - and I'm not too fond of pearls.  That's it.  Silly really, but when I'm struggling with what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my eternity, it's a big deal!  Besides, eternity?  Do you have any idea how long that is? No.  Neither do I, but sometimes I'm just so tired.  Will I ever get a break?  Can't heaven be lying in fresh green grass, by the side of a clear running brook, reading a book or looking at clouds, and smelling the dark, rich soil?  How can I be sure I even want to live in Heaven?  I mean, I want to be with Jesus -- safe, laughing, joy bursting from my heart, giving all I have to worship Him.  But forever?  All the time?  Time?  There isn't even any time; it just goes on, and on, and on...

OK, before I work myself into an all-out panic, here it is:  Trust.  Finite vs. Infinite.  I don't want to think about it; I refuse to think about it.  I must know, I must trust that what God has planned for eternity is perfect.  This life here has certainly prepared me for that -- moments when I've thought my life would never be happy again, people I've thought I could never forgive, open doors that I reluctantly -- very reluctantly passed through.  And Scott.  Scott has taught me trust.  He has this incredible, visionary mind that sees things before they are; he is a designer.  God is the ultimate Designer!  If He has designed Heaven just for me, how can it be anything less than wonderful!  So, I trust.  I know that my finite mind cannot grasp the beauty and fulfillment of eternity, and I trust.

What are your secrets?  Confess them today.  God is full of answers!   

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Yeah, who believes in that stuff, anyway?"

"Anybody who has somebody."

Whether you have "a significant other," or whether you think Valentine's Day is a commercialized holiday conjured up by card companies and jewelers to compensate for the after-Christmas doldrums,

Have a great day, and remember:

GOD LOVES YOU!

Jonah and Jimmy Choo

My name is Judi Murphy, and I am a footwear fanatic.  But not just any footwear, mind you; I have a propensity for the finer footwear in life.  Christian Louboutin is a sculptor, an aesthetic genius who works in the softest of leathers and reddest of reds to create masterpieces of style and femininity.  Jimmy Choo inhabits my dreams, calling to me with his siren song, luring me to the depths of his Stiletto Seas...  Sad but true.

However, at some point, the realty exists that while I have allowed myself to be carried away by the illusion of Valentino Garavani's arches resting oh so gently next to mine, I am not where I was born to be.  I was born to Payless parents, cannot justify more than the occasional splurge at Macy's, and would suffer from heart failure if I saw my girls playing "runway" in any more than my Carlos Santana's (and when it comes to my ladies conducting raids on my closet for the sake of play, I have a hard time saying "no."  Doing the same thing with my mother forged an intimate bond and, as I remember it, was my way of developing myself to be like the person I most admired.)

Ironically, Jonah has always been one of my favorite Bible stories.  The classic folly of trying to run from God's plan for one's life, meets God's redirect and redistribution, meets more foolishness.  In short, here was a guy so confident he could escape from God (or, perhaps thought he had escaped from God) that he bragged about it to his shipmates, shipmates who valued God Almighty as no more powerful or omniscient than their false gods -- otherwise they would have sent Jonah packing the moment the boast had burst from his lips.  Nonetheless, it was God who sent the storm, God who determined the lot fell on Jonah, God who brought the whale, and God who calmed the storm, resulting in Jonah's shipmates not only witnessing God's authority and strength, but committing themselves to Him!  As for Jonah, he recognized his foolishness, made haste to obey God's calling, but later begrudged God the prerogative to save Nineveh from retribution because they, like Jonah, had repented!  Truth is, Jonah's physical location may have been in compliance with God's will, but his heart was still far from humble, charitable, Godlike.

While I would never think of putting my family in debt over a pair of shoes, would I be happy with shopping at Payless, limping through the aisle with a disposable Ped, trying to find a place out of the way of traffic, and proudly selecting a pair of tan-soled Fionis?  Perhaps, my heart could use a little more work.

     

Remembering The "National" Anthem

Ok, maybe I'm being too judgemental; at my age, maybe even crotchety and ornery, but enough with the National Anthem already!  Look, I've performed in public, given speeches and workshops -- I know what being in front of crowds of people can do in that split second of opening up one's mind to the fact that "they are all staring at you, expecting something of you, maybe even judging you" -- *CHOKE!*  But, in light of the "Aguilera Flub" and the "Warfield-Cross Issue," which brought, once again to the front, the "Marvin Gaye Rendition" and the "Roseanne Barr Assault," don't you think it's about time we just sing it? 

What is all this stuff about artistry and creative license?  What if our President decided to "origami" the Constitution, you know, just to make it a little more interesting and fun? or paint the White House blue with orange trim, really demonstrate America's freedom of expression?  Whatever you sing at your concert or for your audience, whatever you hang in your gallery or create for your friends is strictly your privilege and your responsibility; whatever belongs to the nation -- leave it alone.  Take a moment to put ambition, showboating, glory-seeking, personal preference aside, and bask in sacrifices made, blood shed, respect and gratitude, sorrow and untold expense, a catholic humility and national moment of homage -- all so you can, within the privacy of your own venue or coalition, perform what you like, as you like it.  Don't make it any more complicated than it already is; don't obssess over your own "signature" on things; don't care who is listening or what power they wield.  Sing it from your heart, and sing it with respect -- after all, it's my anthem, too.