Bless Someone Different {Graffiti Summer}

The Graffiti Summer challenge this week from Alene's Graffiti Study and Do guide is to actually do some serving. It's time to bless someone different from ourselves. Alene provided us with a few tips, such as buying a gift card to a fast food restaurant to bless someone in need with.

I decided to take it to the streets. Sorry, Alene, I stole that line from you. But really, I did take it to the streets. I took myself to the streets of Chicago. Better yet, I took myself to the Chicago Blues Festival in the streets of Chicago. Thousands gather for this festival so I was certain I could find someone different from me to serve. The few blocks walk from the train station to the festival alone would surely present me with an opportunity to bless another.

There was a homeless man lying down on a sidewalk corner as I walked outside of the train station. A few others caught my attention as I made my way to the festival but I kept on walking. What was I so afraid of? Why did I not stop?

I arrived at the festival, without stopping to bless another, and it was time for some blues. The warm summer air was filled with the sounds of a harmonica, fiddle, organ, guitar and amazing voices. As I allowed the sounds to fill my own needy soul, I glanced from right to left to get a closer look at the different people I came to serve.

Then I saw her to my right. She had thick, long and dark hair tied together in a braid. My poor use of descriptive words does not paint a good picture of how thick and long her hair was. At first glance my mind immediately goes to classifying her as homeless. Maybe she was, maybe she was not. Either way she had a smile on her face from one ear to the other. She was clearly enjoying the music.

My mind wandered as I continued search out for someone to bless. If the woman I saw was homeless she didn't appear to be in need or despair. Could it be the homeless have days filled with love and laughter too? Do I consider myself more blessed than them because I have a roof over my head?

I imagine they know what it feels like to have and then to lose. I imagine they appreciate what little they do have more than I. We believe they are without. They may go through life still knowing how blessed they are.

Chicago is a city filled with lots and lots of people. Each one of them is different from me. How do I determine who to bless? In Grant Park, where we gathered to listen to the blues, finding someone who needed to be blessed seemed hard to do. The people around me all had smiles glued to their faces. If they were going through troubled times, this was a day they appeared to leave their troubles behind.

You might think I'm crazy but on that day grace appeared to be everywhere; or at least my heart was filled with grace.

I saw people as people, not as though they were less or better than me. All these people standing and sitting around me are loved by the same God. Do they all know how deeply they are loved? Wait, isn't that why I was there?

I was there to see them—I was there to bless them. If only I could say I moved beyond seeing them. 

Maybe this is what I discovered when I took it to the streets. We may all be different, but are we really so different? If we all want to be seen and know—if we are all longing to fit in—how different are we? Are we so different that we should allow our differences to turn us away in fear?

I arrived in Chicago holding five $5.00 gift cards to McDonald's. I left holding four. One of them was given to my son and his girlfriend as I departed with words of encouragement to bless another on their way home. My intentions were to find someone as I walked back to catch my train. There were several I could have stopped to bless along the way. Four gift cards still remain. This is much harder than I thought it would be.

I'm not sure if it was fear of their differences that held me back, or the struggle to understand where do you start and when do you stop. I don't have the means to help them all. And am I really helping them?

My heart's desire is to serve someone in need. Maybe He's calling me to serve in a different way. This coming weekend I'm taking myself back to Chicago and will team up with Chicago Cares to tackle various projects around the city where help is needed. This journey will be taken on my own, which is a big step outside of my comfort zone. I'm not really on my own; God will be leading the way.

Serving has to begin somewhere and this might be my somewhere. You could claim I'm taking the easy way out. I'd say you're wrong. A full day will be dedicated to leaving my own schedule behind and meeting the needs of others. Whether it's beautifying classrooms, school libraries, playgrounds or parks, help is needed in these under served communities and I will be there ready and willing to serve.

Part of me feels I failed when I took it to the streets of Chicago with my gift cards and still came home with them all. That's just the devil getting inside my head again. I didn't fail. God is opening my eyes and heart every day as we take this journey together of learning to step over my fears.

This week we are reading the section God Given Destiny in the book Graffiti: scribbles from different sides of the street. Click here to see what others are sharing as they join me in this Graffiti Summer challenge.

To catch up on all my posts from this challenge, click here.

Love all of what He created

Why does my heart sink when I see the word food? Part of me wants to take a pass on this prompt and wait for the next one. But then I feel a nudge from God and accept that my fear of this word is something He wants me to overcome.

We've been here before, God. Can we agree that this fear is here to stay? It's a part of me and I don't know if I can let it go.

My love/hate relationship with food, this eating disorder of mine, is one I'm convinced I have under control. We've had this relationship for over 15 years so I have it perfected. Stay with your comfort foods, Beth. When you find yourself up against the wall with food outside your comfort category, the bathroom is near. No problem!

When I play out the scene in my mind, I admit I have a rather warped view of what it means to have control.

Putting words to this battle is hard. A new writer friend recently wrote a post on a dare to love herself and her words touched my heart. At first I was jealous of her ability to express herself so beautifully. My jealousy then turned to praise. I was thankful for her ability to write about the battle to love who God created us to be.

"I will stop rejecting You, by loving all of what You created." ~ Tammy

The fear isn't so much the food but rather the fear of how what I eat will change me. Thin is good. Thin is acceptable. The opposite just won't do. And really, the underlying battle is believing I am enough just the way He created me. It makes me sad that I reject God by not loving all of what He created.

I spend time sharing with a friend and she says, "Beth, it's time to say big prayers to God." The only words that come are God, please take this.

Am I ready to surrender this control, or lack of control? Am I ready to surrender my body to God? What will change when I do? Will I ever be able to look in the mirror and no matter what I see say, your works are wonderful? Can I step on a scale and believe the number isn't a reflection of my worth? Will I ever be able to look at food and not fear its impact?

My one word for 2013 is embrace. I chose this word because I know God is wanting me to embrace who I am in Christ. My go-to verse is, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~ Psalm 139:14

I say this verse over and over again...God's Word is the best way to combat the lies from the devil that push us deeper in our fears. Maybe my deepest fear is if I will ever truly believe these words apply to me too.

I reflect on my friend Tammy's words. "Grace is everywhere, but right here in us." While my tendency is to believe I'm excluded, the truth is His grace is in me too. So every morning when I wake, my prayer will be the same. "God, please take this." And each day I will grow in His amazing grace.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

How are you growing in His grace my friend? Will you share?

Redemption for a Family {Part 2}

Read Part 1 here.

Spring is here! I've always been in a rush for summer to come, but God seems to want me to find rest in the wonders of spring. As my husband and I prayed before dinner the other evening, these words from my mouth surprised me, Thank you God for spring and the promise of new life. Before we prayed (it was my turn to pray) I gave a slight sigh as I wasn't sure what my prayer would be. I love how if we begin with a single word and full surrender to God, He will do the rest.

This passion of mine to capture spring through the lens of my camera has me in awe of the new life blossoming before me. There is beauty in watching life appear through the dirt. Maybe I'm still overflowing with gratitude from the impact of this past Easter. I wondered as Easter ended, what comes next? As I write the answer comes. The promise of new life comes next.

We come to the cross and surrender our old life to Christ and we are made new.

Do you think this is what God intended with spring? He gives us new life springing up all around us, and all shortly after when the resurrection of Christ took place. I'm still feeling like the new girl on the block when it comes to my faith, so pardon me if I seem late to this revelation.

As I find rest in the wonders of spring, God reminds me of the new life He has given me and also my husband and children. I'm not always sure if I can include my children because they are not believers, but as my husband and I were filled with joy and peace from trusting God, hope overflowed and touched the lives of our children (Romans 15:13).

I see this new life Christ has given us with fresh eyes. God really does redeem. Memories of pain begin to fade and they are replaced with moments to celebrate. Some are small moments but the small are worth rejoicing over. Then there are those moments where time seems stands still and I hear God whisper, "Don't miss this. I'm doing something new."

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." ~ Isaiah 43:19

Now I understand why He directed me to find rest in spring...to see how He made a way.

• He made a way for a father and son to learn how to love each other. A relationship that spent years in turmoil has been made new. To witness a recent embrace sent my heart leaping with joy.

• He made a way for another son to realize his full potential as both a musician and a student. I'm blown away by his talent.

• He made a way for a marriage to not only survive, but to bring together a union that was never fully made...a marriage that joins man, woman and God. I would have never imagined our evenings would be spent praying together.

• He made a way for a family to find healing — to be made new.

I'm still humming these lyrics over and over again, "Thank You Lord. I just want to thank You Lord." My heart is overflowing with gratitude.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

~ Ephesians 3:14-21