Category: Uncategorized

Get Up & Defend Your Home!

“Get up, get up, defend your home; the Redcoats are coming!”  These are the famous words of Paul Revere and Thomas Dawes as they rode through the colonies warning the Minutemen of the incoming British soldiers.  It’s also the words my grandfather, who took me in at one month old, and raised me in his home, spoke daily.  I woke to these words and the smell of bacon frying every morning.  It was an endearing phrase to me, as they came from the wise old man who seldom spoke.  In fact, it’s one of the few things I can remember him saying to me.  (I’ll share the other one sometime in the future).  Anyway, back to the ranch, I decided to pass the tradition to my own two children.  So every morning I woke them with, “Get up, get up, defend your home; the Redcoats are coming!”  One morning, my sleepy eyed son groggily asked, “Mom, who are the Raincoats?”  Needless to say, a short history lesson followed and the seed was planted that eventually lead me to become a high school history teacher.

This morning, February 9, 2019, I woke up and spoke these words to myself (not aloud, of course).  But nevertheless, I thought of them as an inner motivation to get myself out of my cozy bed.  The scripture that came to me was the one about the roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  I looked it up for accuracy:  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8).  In my analogy, the Redcoats are the adversary, although I love the British people today, prior to the American Revolution, they were not so cherished by many of our colonial ancestors. 

As Christians, if we think that our enemies will simply leave us alone – we are sadly mistaken.  Once we begin trying to become more intimate with God and live the lives we were created to live – there is resistance, distraction, fear… the roaring lion.  We must realize that we are called to defend our territory:  our minds, our health, our homes, our children, our friends, our communities, our governments, and ultimately our world.  Yet, this epic battle begins in our actions and homes on a daily basis.  When thoughts of fear or disappointment or rejection begin to invade our peaceful minds – we must defend ourselves.  When our health is threatened, or our friends are facing difficulties, or our children or grandchildren are faltering – we must take action. The Bible teaches us that our weapons aren’t guns or spears or the muskets used by the Minutemen.  The scripture puts it this way:  “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:14-18).  To simplify this – we must live our lives based on the truths we find in the Word, we must realize that we aren’t perfect, but Jesus was, and He covers our imperfections.  We must believe that God’s love is more powerful than evil – that requires faith.  We must willingly give God entry into our lives, not just once at an altar, but daily.  Then, we must use the Word as our guideline as we deal with the daily issues in our lives – relationships, health, wealth, and entertainment…everything! 

So my dear friends, “Get up, get up, defend your home; the Redcoats are coming!”  But remember the rest of the story of the American Revolution, the underdogs won!  And because of their willingness to fight against the giants in the world at that time – you and I are Americans.  In the words of Lin Manuel Miranda, “Rise up, rise up, it’s time to take a shot.”

Tidy Up Your Thoughts

I have currently been mesmerized by the Marie Kondo phenomenon.  She’s written books and even has a Netflix show on organizing your home.  However, her process includes an unusual way of getting one’s home ‘tidy’, not necessarily clean, but tidy.  Everything in your home must be analyzed and then either given or thrown away OR kept and stored so that its owner can truly appreciate the item.   She recommends starting with clothing; students are instructed to place ALL of their clothes in a huge pile on the bed or floor.  She says one needs to see the sheer volume of their possessions before beginning to decide which items to keep.  Kondo describes the procedure by telling her students to hold the item and ask if it brings joy.  Is there a thrill as the item is touched, is it truly loved, does it spark  joy?  If the answer is yes, the item must be kept and a special home for the item must be created.  If, however, there are no positive feelings associated with the item, it must go immediately.

As I contemplated this process, I thought about our minds, our thought lives and emotions, and I began to compare them to the items in our homes.  I wondered if the same strategies could be used to declutter our thinking patterns and emotions.  “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;  if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”  Philippians 4:8

Imagine this scenario…begin by taking all of your thoughts and putting them on the table in front of you so that you can see the sheer volume of thoughts and emotions you own – both the positive and negative.  For example, the jealousy you feel when someone else gets something you desperately want and you cover it up with a smile that is so insincere you feel like a contortionist.  The envy of seeing other people succeed while you don’t seem to be making any progress.  The insecurity you feel when someone belittles you or your ideas and you want to slither out under the rug quickly and quietly.  The guilt you experience when you remember something from your past that always seems to be lurking in the back corner of your mind waiting on its chance to jump to the forefront.  The frustration you feel rising within you, like water coming to a boil on the stove, when your customer service experience makes you feel as if you’re an imposition instead of a paying consumer.  But don’t forget to put the good thoughts on the table too, like the joy you feel when a child embraces you and you feel so accepted.  The pure joy that overwhelms you when your family sits down together to eat and talk and laugh, as if nothing else is going on in the world that deserves your attention in those moments.  The satisfaction you feel when you finally reach a goal you worked hard to achieve and you realize the sacrifices were worth the reward.  The love you feel for a beloved spouse who knows all your flaws, yet still chooses to be with you.  Now…once they are all out on the table, pick each one up and hold it in your hands.  Ask yourself, “Does this thought or feeling bring me joy?”  If so, fold it neatly and store it vertically in your mind so that you can quickly find it when needed, Marie Kondo style. If not, say goodbye, knowing that you received some satisfaction from that feeling somewhere in your past, but now you’ve grown and you realize you don’t need that with you anymore.  

This is the process we all need to go through so that we can focus on what our Creator intended, before we allowed too many ‘things’ to crowd our minds.  We are loved and accepted and we need not dwell on thoughts that don’t bring us joy.  Thank you Marie Kondo, for not only helping me get my house tidied up, but for reminding me that if I keep only those thoughts and feelings that align with the Word of God and get rid of the others, I will be full of real joy.  The unspeakable joy that only Jesus Christ can bring.