Birthday Promise

This summer I started getting to know a little neighbor boy, Alex. I enjoyed going on walks with him, his baby sister, and his mom. More than once, the subject of birthdays came up. He wanted to know if my puppy, Hadly had a birthday. I assured him that she did and said we would do something to celebrate.

Hadley's birthday is officially on Thursday. However, Alex won't be around then, so we opted to celebrate today. I took him on a trip to Petco to buy Hadley a toy. (She got two. An orange ball and a squeaky bone as well as a bag of treats that Alex picked.) Then I treated Alex to ice cream.

When we got back he enjoyed giving Hadley her treats and her toys. He even sang her "Happy Birthday."

It may all sound a bit silly to some of you. Hadley isn't really aware of her birthday. But I had promised Alex we would do something. Hadley was the reason, but more than anything, I wanted to keep my promise to Alex.

How do you do keeping promises -- especially to children? I think it is important. It teaches them to trust what you say. It makes you a safe, trustworthy person -- to adults or children. I try to be someone who does what they say -- even if "I promise" isn't spoken.


I think Alex and Hadley both had a good time. Alex and Hadley both enjoy each other and I enjoy both of them.

Letting Your Guard Down -- Hope Chronicles 86

My cats trust me. They greet me at the door. Mali begs to have her chin scratched. Katy does a cat scratch and then rolls on her side or back for a belly rub. Both are signs of trust -- particularly the belly rub. For all practical purposes, it puts Katy in a vulnerable position. It's hard to move fast from that position, it's hard to escape. She willingly lets her guard down.

This weekend I had company. My friends brought their dog, Ike. Katy bolted as soon as he appeared and hid under the dresser. Mali stayed out but put Ike in his place with a clawed swipe at his nose and a hiss. (I think this perplexed poor Ike. He lives with a cat and just wanted to say, "Hello.")

At night both of them sleep with me. Katy goes as far as to paw at the covers around my neck until I let her under the covers and proceed to rub her belly. I worked Saturday night. My company was in bed when I came in with Ike closed in the bedroom with them. Katy finally decided to venture out when I did my soft, ritual call, "Katy, Katy love. Katy, Katy love." We commenced with the routine. But then from down the hall, both cats heard Ike rattle the tags on his collar.

Mali opted to sleep on top of the tallest dresser. Katy spent the night beneath the dresser. No amount of coaxing would convince her to come out.

I love that in general they both trust me so much. But as I've thought about their reaction that night, it showed me that they only trust me to a certain extent. After that, they decided to fend for themselves.

I would like to say that I trust God completely. But I think I am often like Katy and Mali. I'm willing to show my soft, vulnerable belly to a certain extent. Throw in an unknown element and I make for the safety beneath the dresser.

Do you have things you only trust God with so far? Relationships are a big one for me. I have a hard time handing them to God and not wanting to grab them back. My anxiety over finances at times shows a similar inclination to trust God completely with them.

But scripture tells us that we can trust God with all things -- even the deepest desires of our hearts. Proverbs 3:5 says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart needs to take precedence over my understanding of things. Why can I trust Him? The evidence is in promises kept -- to me and throughout history.

• He promised to make Abram/Abraham a great nation.
• He promised to rescue His people.
• He promised to send a redeemer.
• He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us.
• He promised to send a comforter, the Holy Spirit.

Hindsight is 20/20. When I look back on my life I see God's faithfulness. He brought a child of brokenness out of the darkness when He called me in the midst of the violence of my family. He has helped me find others to be family with. When I look back, I can see that He never left me.

We can have hope for all the promises kept throughout history that point to all the promises He will keep until He brings us all to be with Him in his glory.

Next time I want to sprint under the dresser, I need to pause and choose to be vulnerable before Him and let His touch comfort my anxiety because I know Him as a keeper of promises.

When Life Doesn't Measure Up -- Hope Chronicles 73

"When our prayers seem to go unheeded, we can learn to live in unexpectant apathy. We go through the motions, but we're not convinced that God will bless us. Bottom line, ugly truth: We don't really trust God"

Carolyn McCulley

Have you ever felt like the above quote? Life isn't what you anticipated when you were a child. You're not an Olympic gymnast and couldn't do a cart wheel to save your life. No Nobel Prize is coming your way. Your job looks nothing like you expected. And then there are your adult expectations. It's impossible to make ends meet. Your friends are busy and you've lost touch. Your spouse is driving you crazy or maybe it is the lack of one that is doing you in. We've prayed but things we desperately desire are out of reach.

I think this is how Sarah in the Old Testament felt. In Genesis 11 we are introduced to Abram and Sarai (later Abraham and Sarah). Immediately on the heels of finding out that Sarai is Abram's wife, we are told that she is barren. Combine this with the fact that she lived in a time and culture that defined a woman's worth by the number of sons she bore her husband. I'd wager she felt pretty insecure. Often it is our insecurities that drive our most desperate actions.

God called Abram out of his homeland and into the land of Canaan when he was 75. Over the years God did amazing things in Abram's life. In Genesis 15, we find God initiating a covenant with Abram. When Abrams tells God his servant will inherit since he doesn't have children, God promises him otherwise in Genesis 15:4-6.

"This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness. (NIV)

It's an amazing promise. I can imagine Abram rushing off to tell Sarai and Sarai wondering if Abram had been dipping into the good wine.

Years later there is still no baby. With arms so empty it hurt, Sarai decided she would do God a favor and help him out. She had Abram sleep with her maidservant, Hagar. Just like anytime we try to "help God out" for our own benefit, Sarai's plan made a mess. As soon as Hagar became pregnant, Sarai began to despise Hagar. Hagar went on to bear Ishmael and in turn his sons became the forebears of Islam. Thousands of years later there remains a deep animosity between Hagar and Sara's offspring.

God is not one to go back on His promises. 2 Timothy 2:13 says the following:

If we are faithless he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

God promised once. Once should have been enough but sometimes God reiterates his promise. Abraham has a visit from a trio of strangers. Through them God tells Abraham that they will return the next year and that by then Sarah will have a son.

Up to this point, scripture is silent on if Sarah ever believed the promise of a son. As she eaves drops on the conversation at the flap of the tent, she is incredulous. Sarah dares to laugh at God. Amazingly, God is not deterred by the unbelief displayed in that laughter. Within a year, Sarah has given girth to Isaac.

In what areas are you living in unexpectant apathy? Where are you laughing at God? Perhaps today is a good day to talk to God about that area.

More to come on "When Life Doesn't Measure Up."

Saying "Wait" -- Hope Chronicles 30

I've always been a bit of a saver. When I was a child, my allowance always went into the pottery type doll bank that sat on my dresser. When I was 10, my parents took us to start savings accounts. As we got older (early high school), my parents started upping the amount of money they gave us. It was agreed upon that that everything (school clothes, Christmas presents, etc) came out of that money. I never asked my my parents for extra. And then I also babysat a ton. Money just seemed to come easy.



Even after college, things have been tight at times, but it has always seemed that there was enough. If I wanted something, I saved here and there for it and got it in a reasonable amount of time. But, money has been extremely tight lately -- we are talking months and months. I thought I had it all figured out.... And I probably made some bad choices.



Last week was a struggle emotionally. There is a certain item I would like to update. I've started stuffing a bit here and there in the envelope and last week went just to look. Bad move! First, the item was more expensive than I had anticipated. Second, it was on sale -- only until Saturday. So, I did the figures in my mind and then on paper and redid them about seven times.



That sounds smart doesn't it? It is unless you base a significant chunk of your figures on "If this happens and I get this many hours . . . or I don't eat . . . ." You get the drift.



But Saturday, I woke up feeling VERY blah. I tried the figures one more time. And I recalled that it was only on sale the rest of the day! And, of course, getting it would make me feel better. (Feelings are the basis of all great financial decisions -- not.)



And since I'm taking Dave Ramsey' Financial Peace class I went to the bank and took out some cash. I drove to the store and parked the car. And just as Dave says, it's hard to part with cash. I sat in the car and counted it. It was all there and I already knew that. But I also knew I would be paying in a significant increase in stress if I used it all. Some of it was legitimately scrimped and saved on fun money but some of it should really go towards bills.



Feeling a bit dejected I drove back to the bank and redeposited what I had taken out and went home and stowed away the savings toward the coveted item . . . . It may not be on sale when I have enough in a few months -- but as the saying goes, at least I won't be "robbing Peter to pay Paul."



Two days later, I feel a little more peaceful about it. I'm so glad it's not on sale anymore!



But it is hard to wait. The world says we need everything now, now, now. It's not just with our finances. Even our food has to be fast. How did we ever manage without microwaves?



Often we fall into the same trap spiritually. We want the growth now or the problem zapped or . . . . But God doesn't often work on our time table. Sometimes He says, "Wait."



Think about Abraham. God told him that he would make him into a great nation and that his descendants would out number the stars. It was a solid and true promise, but there was a long wait involved. In fact, Abraham didn't see it fulfilled until he got to meet God in heaven and watch it unfold from there.



Waiting is hard. But God never promised us a quick, speedy journey. Rather, He promised to be with us along the way. As we wait, we wait with eager expectation with God and that is the basis of our hope.