True confession: I regularly watch ABC Family.
I especially love it at this time of year because of their seasonal “classic” movie marathons like the 13 Days of Halloween and the 25 Days of Christmas. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not much of a sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-Clarissa-Explains-It-All-at-full-attention kind of gal, but when I’m working at home I turn on movies like Christmas Vacation, The Goonies or Pirates of the Caribbean for background noise. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Yeah, you read that right. I may or may not have stayed in one night recently and watched The Goonies. By myself. (sometimes I should probably leave more mystery about my life for you readers) My favorite part is when Chunk, captured and interrogated by the Fratellis, is threatened to be “pureed” if he doesn’t tell them where the rest of his buddies are. He says:
“OK! I’ll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my Uncle Max’s toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade when my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out… But the worst thing I ever done – I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa – and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then – this was horrible – all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.”
A toupee beard?! A pot of fake puke?! That never gets old!
But as I sat there on the couch laughing out loud by myself, it hit me. “Ok! I’ll talk” meant for this little boy a confession of everything bad he had ever done – it was top of mind, on the tip of his tongue. It felt very similar to the type of talking I do in the majority of my prayer time and in general conversation about Gods work in my life.
While I don’t have this long list of “Chunk style” confessions spilling out of me all of the time (though please hear me say confession of sin is mandatory as is receiving forgiveness for it), I do have 17 half started blogs all about my acute awareness of a refining waiting period, lessons learned through a trial (however trivial) or a need I’m asking God to meet. To those hard, ho-hum topics I always say: Ok! I’ll talk! They are top of my mind, on the tip of my tongue.
But how often am I ready to write or engage in a full conversation giving Him nothing more than praise? My witness of the Lord’s amazing provision in my life, His timely answer to prayer, the overwhelming sense of His presence in my daily life?! Scripture says: out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. If a disproportionate amount of my time is spent dwelling on praying for my next need rather than focused on praise for how completely the last one had been met, of course that’s what is going to come out of my mouth and of course, a spirit filled life of joy is going to be awfully hard to expect! Sooo….
OK! I’LL TALK!
My heart is overflowing with humility and gratitude that the Lord has been so faithful in recently answering my prayers. Nothing more than His praise is on my lips! Just like the Israelites, I want to build a “altar” (albeit verbal one) in Gods history of faithfulness to me: 1) As thanks for His full blessing, and 2) As a reminder of what He’s done, so I can know that He is an active God who provides for his children in His best timing, when in the future, my perception if it feels a little late.
So much of Psalm 34 I’ve claimed as my own lately. Just like the psalmist, I’ve a renewed sense of awe over the gift of salvation, have felt my crushed spirit revived, had my weakness met by His favor covering me. Throughout this past season I have greater understanding of the Lord’s pursuit of new parts of my heart. I have a refreshed love for His alive and active Word. Because I am His and seek refuge in Him, I am nearly brought to tears knowing and feeling that I lack no good thing and am tasting – no, FEASTING – and seeing that the Lord, yet again, is good. I petitioned Him unceasingly for a particular type of friend and He, in all of His great drama, delivered! Has every prayer been answered? No. But I’m praising Him for the ones He has answered and knowing that He sees my need, my hope is continually in Him for all of the things yet to come.
With all of that praise, I have this one request: Dear Lord, please bless me someday with a kid creative enough to mix a pot of fake puke.
SWEETER SUGAR 