The Olympics, Coworkers, and Pinterest

The Olympics.  It is practically un-American to not watch at least some of it!  I mean, how can you NOT?  There is drama, tears of joy (and defeat) and perfectly round bruises on muscled bodies  caused by glass jars and fire!  There are young people and there are old people (after all, they do keep saying how old the 35 year olds are).  You stay up wayyyyy past your bed time to see it all unfold and it’s exhilarating.  Thrilling. 

I actually want to be like them.  Look like they do.  As I lay on the couch I think how I’d love to be able to swim that fast and flip that high and be in the shape they are.  As I lay on the couch. 

I confess I cannot keep my eyes off of their tummies!!  There, I said it!  Truthfully, their abdomens astonish me!  They are so flat!!!  So flat!!  I cannot look away!  When I do, I look down at mine and see the tummy I had when I was pregnant!  I want their tummies.  As I lay on the couch.

 

A co-worker said to me this week, “You are sooooo nice!  It makes me want to throw up in my mouth!” 

So, basically she thinks I am nice and it makes her sick.  What do I do with that?

Ummmmm, thank you?  Ummmmm, I’m pretty sure that it is a good thing right now for you that I am so nice or I would definitely say something other than “Ha ha”!!

I’ll make blueberry banana bread I said to myself.  (How is that for another change of subject?!)  The precious couple from church has not been there in a while because of health issues.  I’ll bless them with blueberry banana bread.  I’ll use a recipe I found on Pinterest.  I have blueberries and bananas.  It will be fun.  Nice!! 

Following the recipe verbatim (because that is what I do) I mix and scrape and pour and bake.  It comes out perfectly!  Picture perfect!  Pinterest perfect!

I let it cool and cut in to it.  “Oh my chili!!”  “What in the world??” What is that oozing out of the amazing looking crust?

 

My Pinterest picture went from looking perfect to a pile of gooey mush.  NONE of the inside was done!!  It was the consistency of the mashed up banana I put in there with chunks of blueberries swimming in it!!  (It actually looked like the blueberry banana bread threw up in it's mouth!!)

 

What happened?  Oven fail?  Operator fail?  This was definitely a Pinterest fail!!

Has that ever happened to you?  Your Pinterest try doesn’t look at all like the Pinterest pictures?  Grrrrr.

So, what in the world do the Olympics, Coworkers and Pinterest all have in common?  God used them to speak a few things in to my heart this week! 

Olympics--There are things I can and should change about myself but it will not happen automatically!   I must get off of the proverbial couch!  Quit dreaming and thinking and wishing!!  It takes lots of hard work and discipline and tenacity and prayer.  Get up and DO IT!  Loose that weight.  Clean that house.  Obey that command.  Feel that love!!  Accomplish that goal!

Coworker-- Christians are nice!  Christians should be nice!  Some people don’t like nice.  I need Christ to empower me to respond to coworkers in a way that glorifies Him.  Not everyone is going to like me.  (Ouch, that one really hurts.)  God has given me coworkers as my mission field.

Pinterest—Pinterest perfection should not be my goal or target.  I will fail (many, many times) and it is OK as long as my heart and mind are focused on Jesus and not what I think I am supposed to be or do.  I might look great on the outside…but on the inside I might be a mess.  Pictures do not tell all that is going on!!  People might look happy and great on the outside....but on the inside they are a messy pile of mush.  Look beneath the surface. 

God speaks to me.  A lot!  And I love how He speaks to me through everyday experiences as well as through His Word and prayer.  Help me to listen, Lord!

God speaks to you.  What is He saying?