Pin It?

Pinterest.....the world of Pinterest.  Have you experienced it yet? 

Oh, I have.  As much as I resisted, I finally partook several weeks ago. The ideas, recipes, thoughts, quotes, etc are practically endless.  Boring people like me enjoy the household cleaning tips, organization ideas, recipes, craft ideas, etc.  Because of the likelihood of addiction, I limited my pinteresting from the get go because I knew this could be a breeding ground for unproductivity, if you get my drift.  I mean, I get on there and with the very few people I follow, I could get lost for hours reading about their pins alone.

I really think I have internet A.D.D.

As I searched Pinterest for something specific last night, I thought about all the pins people have made, and all of the pins that have been repinned.  Some of the people on Pinterest have so many pins, there is no way they can remember what they have and haven't pinned.  I thought, these ideas are great and all, but how many of them are actually used.  In all my wisdom, I deducted that it was very likely that there was alot more pinning than there was doing....

Lots of good intentions....

...........but less implementations.

Here's a few examples from my friends who have graciously agreed for me to make spectacles out of their Pinterest habits.

There's me - I have 18 pins, not very many in the world of Pinterest, and of those 18, I have actually only used 3 of them.  Oh, sure, there are several on there that I intend to put to use, but I haven't.

Then there's my friend Brittany.  Well, she's still stuck in the "I don't get this" mode about Pinterest and she has no pins.  The whole concept makes no sense to her, and that's ok!  In her organizational, list making brain, when it clicks with her, she will LOVE it.

Camillia has 458 pins that are what I would call "usable" and she has actually put 151 of those things into use.

My baby sister, Andrea, well I'll just tell ya, between Andrea's and Camillia's pins, I never have to go to the main Pinterest board.  They keep me very well occupied.  Andrea has 495 pins and says she has actually only used about 15-20, which were mainly recipes.

I asked Leslie, she has a whopping 3 pins, but confesses to reading thousands and using only about 6.

And poor Angie, she doesn't even have her own Pinterest board, that's a story for another post.  She just lingers around the site reading pin after pin with no place to call home.   She admits to reading pins for countless hours and never using a single one of them.  We love you anyway, Angie.

Do you get where I'm going with this?  Without implementing any of the ideas that are so appealing to us, that's all they are - ideas.

.......and without implementing what we know about God and His Word, it's just knowledge.

In lots of situations we know what we "ought to do" or what we "should do".  We've got tools "pinned" in our hearts and minds, but often we have lots of good intentions.....but less implementation.

Friends, we can't approach our relationship with our Savior as if it were a spiritual Pinterest board.

If I want real change in my life, I have to do more than "pin it". 

I have to use it. 

I have to live it.

I have to believe it.

That's when the pin moves from being simply pinned in my head to permanently nailed to my heart, and forever becomes part of me.



Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

Been There Before

It had been a hectic day, it was raining, and I had to stop at the store on my way home from work, and I was less than excited about it.  Creeping through the parking lot, I saw a parking space that brought a little delight to my heart on that messy evening.  I turned on my blinker and waited for an oncoming vehicle, who by the way, was not creeping through the parking lot. 

Yep, you guessed it, she whipped in the spot I was going for.  And yes, it was quite obvious.  I muttered something not so nice to myself and whipped into the space next to her.  First of all, how ridiculous was it that I was irritated at her snatch when there were 2 spaces to begin with?

I know.  Silly.  But hey, at least I'm being honest.

And while I'm being honest, yes, I gave her the you took my spot laser beam eyes.

I hopped out of my little car and bebopped my way into the store, never paying any more attention the the parking space stealer.

I got the few things I needed, which included 2 mammoth ferns for my porch.  Did I mention my car was little?  Just checking.

As I wrestle my Large ferns into my small car, I notice the vehicle is still parked in the space next to mine, and she was in her car.  At one point as I was trying to keep my buggy from rolling away, while not completely mauling my ferns, I noticed she was outside her vehicle.  I glanced that way and she looked over at me, so I politely smiled, grumbling to myself about my the parking place, and she smiled back.  Once I completed my wrestling match, she approached me.

"Would you mind to give me a jump?" she asked, checks flushing.  One arm in a sling, she stroked her forehead with her other hand and added, "I left my key on and now it won't start."

"I sure can.  Do you have cables?" I asked digging for my keys, immediately feeling guilty about the parking space grumbling.  She was obviously not having a good day.

"Yes," she answered, magically producing jumper cables within seconds. 

It was becoming apparent to me she had been in this boat before.

And so had I.

When I was young and actually wanted to be cool, we were by no means rich.  In the social sense, we were poor.  I was very lucky to even have a car, and the car I had was no luxury vehicle.  Before I was allowed to get my driver's license, my dad made me prove to him I could change the oil, the battery, and the spark plugs myself because "having a car brings responsibilities and if you're gonna have one, you need to know how to take care of it". 

This car. This car. This car.  Remember, I actually wanted to be cool at this point in my life and it was not cool to have a junky car.  It was the car that would never completely die.  It was a hypochondriac in the car sense, it always had something wrong with it. 

Jumping a dead battery - Piece. Of. Cake.  This was a problem I had doctored before.

You see, I had mastered that skill by at least age 12,  I'm sure.  There was always a lawn mower or a vehicle that wouldn't start, so I was no stranger to a set of jumper cables. 

Feeling proud that I knew how to help her, I pulled my car closer so the cables would reach, she hooked up her end and I hooked up mine.  With the connections made, she jumped in her car, turned the key, and it cranked right up.

The young lady thanked me several times and I assured her that it was no problem at all because I had been in her shoes before.

Smiling, she climbed into her car, I hopped into mine and drove away.  Immediately my mind began turning.  It was one of those many times I have been thankful that I grew up on the poorer side of the social spectrum.  If  I hadn't then I would have had no clue how to help her.

I felt that familiar nudge from the Spirit.  It's kind of like when we've been poor spiritually.  Even though I hated my not cool car and hated it breaking down aand having to know how to jump it, etc, I have used what I learned in those years many, many times.  I wouldn't trade them. 

Similarly, even though we wish we had never done some of the things we have done, even though we wish we had never been in some of the places we have been, wished we had never made some of our biggest mistakes, it's that poor past He can richly use to help someone else if we are willing to be transparent.

We all have different stories and different pasts, but let me encourage you, there is no shame in your past.  It can be an amazing tool for someone else. 

Big or small, what in your life can He use to help someone else?





Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

A Destination In Mind

It was October 2006.  Todd and I had been very careful with our funds, scrimping and scraping with hopes for a dream vacation.  Our FIRST real vacation as a family.  We checked airline prices over and over, package deals a hundred times, ran the numbers backward and forward, then it was time. 

We dialed 407-WDisney.

And we kept it a secret from the girls. Well, sort of.

We told them we were going somewhere on fall break, but we didn't tell them we were going to Disney World.  We knew if we divulged our big secret, they would bug us about it non-stop. Y'all know exactly what I mean, don't you?   Mmmhmm.

Instead of telling them we were planning a trip to Disney on fall break, we told them we were going to the Louisville Science Center and spend a few days in Louisville.

Big difference, right?  We thought so.  I mean, weigh the options.  In one hand you have the science center, in the other, you have Disney.  Seems like a no brainer to me, especially if you're an elementary aged little girl and preschooler who believe wholeheartedly in Tinkerbell, Ariel, and Cinderella. 

We kept our secret a secret until just a couple of days before leaving.

We called the girls to the living room and sat them on the couch so we could make our BIG announcement.

This was their response:

And for those of you who don't have video capabilities, here's a few snapshots of the discussion, so you can get the full affect.

No, these are not tears of joy!

Complete and utter meltdowns.  They were NOT excited about going to Disney World, they had been to the science center once for a few hours and were perfectly content with visiting it again.  We were messing up the idea they had formulated in their minds of the perfect vacation.  They were familiar with the science center, they had no idea how grand Disney was and had no idea that there was no comparison, no idea what they were settling for.

After much convincing and coddling, they got over the science center and we had a blast on our first family vacation at Disney!



       Yes,  I promise, these ARE the same children.

  


I  read a similar story recently in God's word.  The kids were the Israelites, the parent was God.  You can read this story for yourself in Numbers 32.  God had been telling the Israelites for years and years about this place He was taking them to and how wonderful it was.

But guess what?

Just before they got there, with the intended destination just across the Jordan River, some of them decided the land where they were was "just right" for their needs.  It was perfect for their livestock, they thought. 

I mean, what does God know anyway, right?

Who needs a land flowing with milk and honey?  Who needs a prosperous land?  Who needs fortified cities?

Naaa - livestock pens would be fine with them.

They were settling for the Science Center when God had Disney in mind. 

They could see where they were, but they couldn't see the Promised Land.  They settled for what they could see themselves instead of trusting God for something more.

I know this describes some of my past choices.  I settled for what was known and familiar instead of waiting and trusting for something greater.

Has your life ever resembled this story?

Do you want the science center or do you want Disney?

Disney is what He has planned for you.




Royal Princess Daughter Of The King