Turn it UP!!

I have a confession to make.  I enjoy the 'shock value' of doing certain things... like hair style and color...the joke at church used to be "What color will Lynn's hair be this week?"  That was until I became a 'professional' who's photo was plastered all over ads and business cards...then I got worried that people would look at the photo, look at me, back at the photo and say, "You look nothing like your picture."  (Leaving me to wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing.) So I have settled for platinum blonde (because it allows the most grace for my ever-graying locks) and for now an asymmetrical bob cut.  But I'm chomping at the bit to do something new...

I also love the shock value of a meaningful tattoo.  The little numbers behind my ear that have a special meaning to me and my husband...the romantic verse from Song of Solomon on my spine....the verse from Isaiah 53:5 on my wrists...I love the puzzled look when people realize that this 'normal-looking (aka boring) grandma' has ink.  But more than that I love for people to ask me about them, I pray for people to ask me about them, because they allow me an opportunity to share my testimony with them.  They allow me to live out loud.

I enjoy Facebook for the opportunity to live out loud as well.  I don't use it (nor do I think others should use it) as a weapon, or a personal diary, or a place to hang my dirty laundry... I use it to advertise a life 'IN CHRIST' and what it means to live joyfully.  I am not trying to pretend I'm something I'm not, as in 'hey, look at my perfect life!' because my life is so far from perfect!!  I have struggles...but I know putting every little angst on my wall for the world see is not an effective way to fix anything.  I know who to text with my prayer requests... a godly woman who I know will stop what she's doing and pray right then.

I am not saying we shouldn't bring the biggies to the social media arena for public support.  I know that there are some things that require a whole community to pull together and pray for a need and support each other.  My friends, Tim and Andrea Leslie are perfect examples of living out loud with a serious need.  Their beautiful Addi, only 5 years old, is in a fight for her life with a inoperable brain tumor.  They share their pain and their victories with an entire community via #PrayforAddi. 

Steven Curtis Chapman has a catchy song entitled Live Out Loud.   It makes me think of the day when I found myself sitting at a stop light with a great praise song on the radio, lip syncing and playing my air drums, when I realized the grumpy man in the car beside me is staring.  I just smile and wave.  I hope that he puzzled over the sight more than once and wondered, "What's she on?"  Because I'm happy to tell you that I'm high ON CHRIST! 

Today, Pastor Terry talked about our redemption and forgiveness and the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us...extravagant love...the kind of love that is beyond what is reasonable or appropriate.  He shared this video of a man getting excited over a shirt... and compared it to how we act about the gift of redemption, forgiveness and grace that we have received from God through the blood of Jesus Christ.  We are lacking, sisters.  It's time to get excited about what's worth getting excited about!

I'm ashamed to say that most of us get more excited at a football game that has NO ETERNAL VALUE than we do at church.  It's time to turn up the volume and let the world HEAR the good news of Jesus Christ through our lives.  Live it.  Loudly!

Be blessed!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Tough Love I remember a day that I got into trouble and my mom brought out the belt. She said “This is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you.” “Yeah, right,” I thought.   It wasn’t until I was a mother that I truly understood what she meant. And it wasn’t when I spanked my own young offspring.... it was years later, when one of them asked for financial help- again.   I had prayed and prayed that God would work things out for my adult child... but in the 11th hour, when it seemed all hope was lost, I caved and transferred the money.   As I clicked the “Send it Now” button on my mobile banking app, I heard that still, small voice speaking... "So you don’t trust me with your children?” Thump. Right up side my head. Ouch. That was the day I learned about tough love and how I was hurting, more than helping, my children by allowing them to depend on me for things they could (and should) be able to provide for themselves.   The next time this adult child asked for money, I felt a peace in
Read more

Most Improved Student

Image
Ok.  I admit it.  I thought I was doing fine.  I thought I could handle this with utmost grace and composure.  But now...I'm not so sure.  Graduation is just 9 days away.  Suddenly I feel a tightness in my throat and a weird pain in my heart (No, I'm not having a heart attack) that I hadn't experienced with the last five children I've watched grow up and graduate.  This time is different.  Very, very different. If you know me personally, you probably already understand why I'm feeling this way.  But for those of you who don't know, let me enlighten you.  My precious, ball-of-fire, amazingly talented, wild, opinionated, mouthy, smart, funny, lovable, hard-working, know-it-all, test-of-my-faith, son, Jacob is about to graduate!!  And this, my friends, is a BIG 'OL DEAL! It all began back in 2000 when he started kindergarten and the teacher insisted that he had ADHD.  All I knew is that I had a boy on my hands who freaked out if his socks had a teeny, tin
Read more

The Importance of Learning to Dress the Part

Image
My mom always referred to my wardrobe by the activity the clothes were intended for...play clothes, church clothes, school clothes....so naturally, as I was growing up I added my own references: work clothes, going-out clothes, cleaning-house clothes, fat clothes... not that 'fat' is an activity...maybe I should have called them my eating-too-much clothes.  My first real job was in a department store.  I worked in the Junior Department.  I loved that job.  I made friends with other employees, and the question was always, "What department are you in?"  Shoes.  Dresses.  Lingerie.  Misses.  Men's.   Perhaps a more effective way to organize a store would be by activity.  But today, as I begin a new year with the hopes of fitting back in my "not-eating-at-all clothes" (see yesterday's blog), I was thinking about what to put on this morning.  It occurred to me that the world now lovingly refers to athletic clothing as 'Activewear.'  Which, i
Read more