Scaredy Cat's Shark Attack...

I have three irrational fears… well... er... ah... uh...  those of you that know me well are aware that there are many others but these are the three I deem the most irrational… 

Don’t judge me. You don’t have to  live in my highly imaginative head.

Ok? So. 
They are:  
zombies, clowns & sharks...
but not necessarily in that order. 

This morning, at my library job, I found myself cataloging five of the most terrifying non-fiction books about sharks. Oh these books were amazing from an informational standpoint. They were just chocked full of colorful maps, text describing habitat, physical characteristics, eating habits, & life cycle & featuring glossy photos of real sharks… biting things. It was truly horrible. So horrible, I considered  pawning them off on a fellow cataloger citing the ghastly nightmares that are sure to plague me tonight & the brief thought that this might be grounds for a workman’s comp case based on PTSD.  Laugh if you want. I’m not kidding. 

Anyhoo… around the lunch table later I shared my irrational fear with some of my coworkers. We laughed at me. & I do mean ‘WE’. I do after all know that the likelihood of my being bitten by a shark is… well here are some facts:

• In 1996, toilets injured 43,000 Americans. Sharks injured 13.
• You have a one in 63 chance of dying from the flu and a one in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark.
• You have a one in 218 chance of dying from a fall and a one in 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark.
• 1n 1996, buckets and pails injured almost 11,000 Americans.  Sharks injured 13.
• In 1996, room fresheners injured 2,600 Americans.  Sharks injured 13.
• The U.S. averages 19 shark attacks a year.  Lightning kills about 41 people a year in coastal states alone.
• Since 1959, Florida has had nine shark attack fatalities.  Lightning fatalities = 459.
• Since 1959, California has had more shark attacks (89) than lightning fatalities (30).
• Since 1959, California has had more shark attacks (89) than lightning fatalities (30).
• For every human killed by a shark, humans kill two million sharks.
• Anyone who has swum in New Smyrna Beach, Florida (shark capital of the world) has likely been within 10 feet of a shark.
• Some sharks can live for a year without eating, surviving on the oil stored in their livers.

-Nat Geo WILD: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/11/22/nat-geo-wild-what-are-the-odds-some-surprising-shark-attack-stats/

Before I move on, I would just like to point out that this list is not reassuring really & opens up my mind to a lot of other things I hadn’t thought scary before such as: toilets, buckets, room fresheners & the fact that I took my two young boys to New Smyrna Beach one summer where they frolicked for a week in the ocean waves. Despite the fact that they survived the trip unscathed, I’m freaking out a little bit over the close proximity we inadvertently had to those sharp-toothed giants… I mean “WHAT IF  one of those guys were trolling around those waters to partake of their yearly feeding? Easy pickin’s people! EASY PICKIN’S!  

Ok. Ok. Ok. I digress.

After lunch, as I reluctantly settled back in at my desk to finish my shark book cataloging, my sweet fellow Cat >^..^< (yes this is what we call each other in library world), slipped me this message. 

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” 

–Corrie ten Boom.

Aha… 

Isn’t this the way of fear? It traps us, paralyzes, binds us, bites us & ultimately keeps us from experiencing the beauty & adventure of the world around us. 

In Psalm 27, King David reminds us that we need not fear but should instead put our confidence in the Creator of all things:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.” Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

I love how my savior speaks to my fearfull soul & gives me the confidence to face my fears with courage.  I will NOT lose heart in the face of danger... toils... or snares... or shark attacks... 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 

The Calendar Debacle aka Living in LaLa Land

"There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day."   

-Martin Luther

I am numerically challenged. No joke. Numbers mean nothing to me. 1 or 100, it’s all the same in my mind. I don’t remember dates, times, how much something costs, how much snow we have on the ground, what my blood pressure is or if my blood pressure is good or not. Because I am numerically challenged, I’ve learned to use a calculator, consult my husband before I arbitrarily throw out numeric facts, ask lots of questions, follow recipes to the letter & keep a family calendar that I update each month meticulously. Cause no joke, my twelve (I think she's twelve) year old daughter’s schedule alone could leave you breathless people! 

Now I admit while I struggle with numbers & sometimes rules & structure, I do not struggle so much with people. I love them. & I love relationship. 

Since Thanksgiving last year, I’ve been running the roads & riding a relationship high. We spent Thanksgiving in Ohio with my parents & my sister & her family & were able to head to Georgia between Christmas & New Years to meet up & hang out with our kids (all of them). It was glorious!

Of course we are back home now in the real world & I’m not quite feelin’ it yet. Hence what happened yesterday…

At the beginning of each week, I touch base with my husband & synchronize our schedules. When I did this on Monday I was surprised how little we had on the calendar for January. My sweet husband declared, “Awesome! Let’s keep an eye on that, it could fill up fast.” “Nah…” I crowed, “It’s a brand new year & there is clear sailing from here to the end of the month babay!” Then I sang a little song & did a little jig back on into LaLa Land. 

Last night, I got a text from a girlfriend who helps out with my daughter’s small group asking if we were on for Wednesday. I chuckled as I went off to consult the calendar (just to be sure) as I was certain it was guitar practice night & we had some dear people coming for dinner afterwards.  However, as I approached the calendar, I realized nothing was matching up. 

N.O.T.H.I.N.G.  

Imagine my horror to find that I had not flipped my calendar from December to January & that instead I had written all of our January dates on it. No wonder January seemed to be so easy breezy. My heart fell to my feet. That calendar was such a hot mess.. . I literally had no idea where we were going, when we were going or who we were going with & I had no earthly idea how I would manage to unravel it. 

At first I wanted to make excuses… 

*Calendars’ are dumb. People should function more organically. For REAL. 

*December is crazy for a ministry family & clearly I’m still there in my mind… & why in heaven’s name to people have Christmas parties in January (cause we really DO have one tomorrow night).  

*We’ve been on vacation & I’m still riding that high… maybe if our families didn’t live so far away I wouldn’t have to flake out like this after a visit. 

*It’s been mighty cold here in Minnesota & my brain is frozen… it’s literally been -44 degrees this week (I fact checked this) & so this is probably my most viable option. 

The truth is… I made a mistake. & maybe even worse… I AM the HOT MESS. Gasp!

For whatever reason, I let down my numerically, organizational challenged guard, didn’t pay close attention to what I was doing & now I must pay the price with double & triple booked days, disappointed friends I will have to reschedule with & a lot of time spent in the unraveling. 

This morning, as I sat in my cubicle at work, thinking about this big fat fail & how to undo it, I was grossly reminded of how really fallible I am… especially when I choose to live in my own personal LaLa Land & do things willy-nilly on my own aka in my own strength.

I can’t help but think about this spiritually. Jesus words are glaring me in the face. In John 15:4, He implores me to, “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.”

Ouch!

Much like my need to need to remain vigilant in my organizational life, I need to take careful care not to sit back, get all lackadaisical & slip away from what is most important… my relationships with Jesus. 

You know, I’m probably never going to be one of those super organized, got it all together kind of girls… I can only pray that the ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ personality trait adds to my charm. A girl can hope right? & while I can (most of the time) manage to navigate a world full of numbers, I’ll probably always be tempted to wander off to LaLa Land. I mean what’s not to love-love-love in that peaceful, happy, sunshiny, glitter infused place with all its music & rainbows & unicorns & hearts & flowers. Deep down inside you want to live there too.

 

Oh & by the way, today, the ‘correct’ calendar tells me it is January 8^th 

… whatever that means.  

Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture by Brandon Hatmaker

When I finished up my book review last year, I was half-way through this book. I could barely stand NOT to share it with you for a whole year, so if this seems like something I've already shared, please bear with me. 

Here's the skinny on Barefoot Church... 

"According to the prophet Isaiah, our worship is somehow validated by how we treat the poor & oppressed. According to Jesus, so is our faith. People around the world are seeking a community that focuses more on others than on themselves. Yet most don't know where to start.

Barefoot Church shows us how today's church can be a catalyst for individual, collective, and social renewal in any context. Drawing from his own journey, Brandon Hatmaker reminds us that serving the least is not a trendy act of benevolence but a lifestyle of authentic community and spiritual transformation." -P. 4 of book cover.

Weather you are a leader or a layperson, this book gives thoughtful consideration to how we in America 'do church'.

Most of you know that this is where my heart truly is & while I know that only the Holy Spirit can convict the heart, I am also very much aware of the platform I have as a pastor's wife. It is my hope that God would continue to open our eyes more & more to the needs of our community & that we would see it as the church's responsibility to lead the charge! 


“While we’ve been charged to ‘equip the saints’ for works of service, the brutal truth is most of us have reduced our expectations of ‘serving’ to a once-a-month tour of duty as an usher or greeter. We’ve settled for serving ourselves and serving as an event rather than serving those in need and living a new way of life that Jesus has called us to…Here’s something to consider: we may say we’re a church on mission, yet we have so many on-campus programs that our people never have time to live on mission in their neighborhoods. We may say we’re more than just a Sunday service, but 90 percent of our resources and efforts are either committed to the Sunday morning experience or events designed to draw people to our building. We may think we serve, but if we took an honest look, we’d find only a small percentage of our people actually serving outside the church.” -Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church

***You can check out my day to day book list at: https://www.facebook.com/LisaMillerPelkey or wait for the complete list near the end of the month. 

Hello 2014

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; 

the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

-2 Corinthains 5:17 (NASB) 

Well, well, well...
It's January 1st, 2014. 
A brand new year. 

This morning, as I crawled out of bed, rubbed the sleep from my eyes & stumbled to the kitchen to make coffee, I was aware of the newness of the day. I love the cultural idea we have about starting over in the New Year. I do not struggle to embrace the philosophy of 'out with the old & in with the new'. It's a little like getting a fresh new start on life. 

Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not really one to make resolutions as I find I have pretty poor follow-through. Especially if it comes down to a resolution that includes diet or exercise. Not so much a fan of such things. I'd be much more likely to make a commitment to spend more time Skyping with my kids, having coffee with friends or reading a new book every week. However, I do try to look back on the past year, access where I am, where I see God moving me & try my best to adjust. 

It is in this spirit this morning that I curl up here on my couch to read my Bible & crack open a brand new journal to begin writing. I find I am almost breathless with anticipation to see what new & exciting adventures I will have with Jesus in 2014. I am also comforted by the thought that with God's love & grace, I will be able to follow-through on everything He has planned for me to do. 

Happy New Year!