Heaven according to Julia.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is the people I get to meet along the way. I am not a huge fan of air travel (the taking off, being in the air, and landing part get me), but plane conversation makes up for the majority of my airbound phobias.

Most of my travel over the past year has been on Southwest, and as all of you frequent flyers know, this lovely airline offers open seating. Open seating offers many perks. It offers the opportunity for those traveling in groups to find seats together and the chance to snag that coveted window seat.

Open seating also leaves much to be questioned. Most of my travel over the past year has been alone, and I usually forget to check in early enough online. By the time I get on the plane, I am left with a choice of countless middle seats on the plane and get to scan my options of pairs of people to be sandwiched between for the duration of the trip.

My luck has varied in airplane seating, with the best involving a grandmother sharing her ginger snaps  and the worst involving a sniffling middle aged man and me holding my breath half of the flight to avoid contracting the flu.

This time, I walked onto the plane and took the first open seat I saw. Three rows from the front. Between and older lady and a ten year old girl. Quick and easy exit after landing. Prime real-estate in the air travel world.

I quickly found out the lady to my right wanted her privacy and kept her nose buried in her Better Homes and Garden Magazine. To my left, however, was Julia.

A few minutes into the flight, I learned that Julia was ten years old and traveling back home alone after visiting her dad and her step-mom, and step siblings for a month in Dallas. Julia and I quickly bonded over her love for Lizzie McGuire and the pink flower stickers on her portable cd player. I knew I was in when she introduced me to her oversized stuffed penguin who she affectionately calls "Mr. Popper's Penguins" (yes, that is his whole name).

Throughout the flight, Julia told me all about her dogs, showed me each of her 15 scars, and told me her 18 favorite colors (some of which I had never heard of).

About halfway through the flight, I looked over and Julia was staring out the window. She tapped on my arm, and told me to look out the window at the clouds. The clouds were beautiful, but I was more awestruck by the conversation that followed with this bright-eyed ten year old.

As Bill Cosby says, kids say the darndest things. But really, I think they say some of the most profound, too.

Julia looked straight at me and said, "How far do you think you have to go up above the clouds to get to heaven?"

I paused to think about my answer and not knowing exactly what to say, I told her I wasn't sure and then asked her what she thought heaven would be like.

She smiled a big smile looking out the window and said, "I think its going to be really big, really beautiful, and all golden. Everyone there will be SO happy because there will be no darkness at all. If anyone is unhappy, God will take them with him so they can learn to be like an angel."

Julia then asked me if her stuffed penguin would get to go to heaven with her. I told her I didn't know, but she assured me she was going to ask God and Jesus to let Mr. Popper's Penguins in because it would make her happy.

Julia got me thinking. What will heaven really be like? When I looked it up, there were too many verses to post, but so many that mirrored what my new friend Julia said.

• Revelation 21: 18  ^"The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass"
• Revelation 21:^{21 "}The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass."
• Revelation 21: 11  ^"It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."
• Revelation 21: 4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
• Revelation 7:17 "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

I asked Julia where she learned about heaven. Judging by some of the things she told me, I wasn't sure she had been brought up in church. She looked out the window at the clouds and told me that she just knew. 


I think heaven will be all the things Julia said and more. Looking around at God's creation here on earth takes my breath away. I can't imagine the magnitude of beauty and glory that will surround us one day in heaven. I'm sure its one of those "you have to be there to get it" kind of things. The thing is though, we don't have to get it now. Like little Julia said, we can just know.

One day, we will get to stand in the glory of the Lord in heaven. And I can only hope little Julia will be standing right there beside me. (maybe a certain stuffed penguin too).

The Terminal.

Right now, I am sitting in an airport terminal, a place I have become quite familiar with over the past year of my life. I have been on 14 flights in the past ten months. 14 boarding passes, and 14 times getting patted down in airport security (you think I would be flagged in the system by now. I look so threatening ha!).

I love people watching. Some places merit better results than others. State Fairs and Walmart are at the top of my list, but airports come in easily 3rd on my list, but for completely different reasons. I affirm, and will continue to, that there is a certain group of people (at least in the south) that only come out of their homes to got to two places: the State Fair, and Walmart.

The airport on the other hand holds a slightly less diverse group of individuals, but one that in some ways enthralls me even more.

I always have been a rule follower, and as a result, arrive at the airport promptly 2 hours before my flight. Whoever made this "rule" probably lives in a big city like NYC or Chicago. They probably have never heard of Tulsa, and therefore didn't make an exception to the rule (which is often needed). Today as always, I walked straight to the Southwest counter with no wait, got my boarding pass, and walked straight to airport security where I once again made it my goal to make the TSA workers smile (There's something satisfying about watching someone's face turn from a grimace to a smirk).

I checked each of those off my list in less than 15 minutes and find myself sitting in the terminal with an hour and a half and nothing to do but watch.

Every few minutes, a large group of people walks by from their incoming flight, rushing off to their destination. Where are they going? Are they visiting? Are they going home? Are they getting on another flight? Are they on business? Have they been on more than 14 flights this year?

Each passenger has a different story and different destination. I would give anything to know what that is. I am sitting with a group of give or take 75 people who I will spend two hours in an enclosed space with, most of whom I won't speak to, and two who I will share an armrest with.

Two people in particular caught my eye on the way into the airport today. When I was walking in, a couple was standing by the car, saying their goodbyes. The boy was still wiping tears from his eyes as he picked up his boarding pass inside. It broke a little piece of my heart even though I had no idea what his story was. I don't know where he was going or why he was leaving and probably never will.

He too is probably sitting in a terminal waiting for his flight.

Coming and going. Getting there quickly. Less hastle. That's what air travel is all about right? So many times we look at life the same way. We make our to do lists and seek the most efficient way to check everything off of our lists. The less interaction the better.

We hardly ever stop to see the stories that are happening all around us. Between all the coming and going, what are we missing out on? Maybe nothing. Maybe something.

I read a quote earlier this week that said this:

“Stop and take your time to notice things and make those things you notice matter.” 

Boarding number A 59. Its just a number and a letter, a seat on a plane. A list of to do's. Just words and numbers. While those letters, numbers, and words help us accomplish the things we "need to", maybe looking in between the words, letters, and numbers are the moments that will truly make a difference. 

Heaven in a Bowl

Usually I am a Food Network Junkie. Paula Dean. Ree Drummond. Racahel Ray. These are my go to's.

While these ladies usually take the cake in recipes, this week, Pinterest came in first in a landslide.

A simple search for fruit dip gave me a recipe that will stay in the top of my books for years to come.

Heaven in a bowl. Better than {you fill in the blank}. The fruit dip that changed my life. Okay, maybe that's a tad dramatic, but seriously. I've made plenty of fruit dips before, but I will never make any of the others ever again. Get your grocery list and pen ready stat and get ready for a heavenly experience. You'll thank me later.

{Disclaimer. If you aren't making this for a large group, I recommend halving the ingredients. Or be forced to dig in with a spoon and eat more than you ever intended to. I speak from experience}

{Brown Sugar Fruit Dip}

Source: (Sami Cameron, Corpus Christi, Texas, Southern Living, JULY 2007)

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coffee liqueur {I replaced this with 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream}
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
assorted fruits

Method:
Beat brown sugar and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, vanilla, and coffee liqueur, beating until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Cover and chill 4 hours. Sprinkle top of the dip with brown sugar garnish, if desired. Serve with fruit. Strawberries, pineapple, and grapes are really good with this dip.

{Indulge}

Confession: I stop at green lights.

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The other day I was driving down the road, came to an intersection and pushed on my breaks until I came to a complete stop. Normal right? I thought so too. I pulled out my phone, checked an email (maybe I shouldn’t admit that…to my credit, the car was stopped), and waited.

I soon came to realize what the car behind me already had. The light in front of me wasn’t red, nor had it been when I had stopped. It was as green. Green as grass. Kelly green. You get the picture.

If this was an anomaly, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. However, if you have been in the car with me driving a handful of times, you probably have experienced a similar scenario, except the one with you in the car eliminates the obnoxious honk from another car and is replaced by you giving me a perplexed look and trying to tell me the light is green without hurting my feelings.

Lucky for you, I’m not very sensitive about my driving. I have come to grips with the fact that I am and probably always will be that driver that inspires a honk or unsolicited raise of the middle finger. I don’t mean to be, but reality is reality, and it’s time to embrace it.

Looking back, my drivers-ed instructor told me I would give other drivers road rage, not necessarily because I was driving badly, but that’s just the way it was. Please also note he was also from a country where women didn’t drive and he freely told me he wished he could impose those same restrictions on American drivers and that I was lucky he passed me on my driving test considering I am not a man. Obviously, I’m not sure I trust his opinion on everything, but apparently there was some validity in some things he said.

Red and green lights exist in so many parts of our lives. God gives us opportunities to serve him each and every day. He’s right there at each intersection showing us the way. We just have to take the steps to look, listen, and act. In a message at church a couple of weeks ago, the pastor said something that stood out to me. “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” 

Confession. I stop at green lights. I don’t always mean to, and I eventually press on the gas and move forward, but I still am guilty of stopping.

Thankfully, God has a lot more mercy than fellow drivers on the road. God never once has given me the finger, honked a horn at me, or whatever the God-like equivalent would be (I’m not sure what that is and don’t think I want to find out.)

Sometimes I take God’s mercy for granted. I choose to sit in the intersection, and not look up at the lights God is trying to show me. If I choose not to listen or look for the opportunities God is trying to give me, I somehow feel like they aren’t my responsibility. I stare at my phone, check my emails, live my life etc., so often never even glancing up to see what God blatantly places right in front of me. Its easy to say we are willing to move when God calls us to do something, but nearly impossible to follow through if we won’t even open our eyes to see where he is directing us.

I am so thankful God has placed so many wise people in the passenger seat throughout my life to give me that gentle nudge I need to see the obvious. Friends, family, mentors, and countless other people have played that role and let God use them to speak His wisdom into my life. I’m so thankful God doesn’t call us to drive through life alone.

As for you, thanks for sitting in my passenger seat. Thanks for pointing out the green lights God is giving me. Thanks for the encouragement and prayers. Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for not flipping me off.

And for all of you drivers out there on the Oklahoma roads, have a little mercy next time someone isn’t pressing on the gas when the light turns green. Chances are, the car horn on your Honda Civic probably isn’t nearly as intimidating as you think it is anyways :)

A Million Miles, 6 Billion People, and a Story Worth Living

I love a good story. Whether it’s listening to a friend or getting lost in the pages of a book, stories always seem to draw me in. I love to listen and always have. When I read a book, even though the author isn’t sitting right there, I get lost in each word like they were sitting there right in front of me. If I skip over a paragraph or skim part of a book, I almost feel guilty for not hearing the whole thing out. Silly, I know.

Some stories are obviously more exciting than others, while others have the ability to make you want to go into self induced coma to avoid having to listen to/read one more sentence of a seemingly meaningless monologue.

I am always surprised at the stories I love the most. A few months ago, I finished reading the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. If you haven’t read it, I won’t ruin it for you, but go read it now so we can talk about it. I COULD NOT put it down until I finished. If someone had told me I would love reading a book about, to put it bluntly, child sacrifice in a future society after nuclear war, I would have laughed at them. None of those subject matters are my cup of tea. A good friend told me to read the series and loaned me the books. I am so glad I trusted her opinion. Suzanne Collins drew me in. It was the story: the characters, the emotions… everything.

What is it about stories that draws us in, makes us hold our breaths, and feel what others are feeling so deeply? Last week, I finished reading a book called, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller. (yes, I read a lot) A few months back, I was having a conversation with a dear friend about post-grad life, the future, and finding meaning in our day-to-day lives. She stopped me mid-sentence, and told me there was a book I had to read. She then started her car, and offered to drive me to Barnes and Noble. She was serious. B&N let me down and was out of Miller’s book. Thank goodness for Amazon.

With a title so vague, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I soon realized why my friend insisted I read it. I am not one to spoil a book before you read it, so read on, then log onto Amazon, and read it for yourself. Basically the author of the book was approached by movie producers who wanted to make a movie based around his life. This offer makes Miller examine the elements that make up a good story, the story he had been living, and the story he needed to live to be one worth telling. In a long string of events including a bike trip across America, falling in love, and treks to other countries, Miller comes to the conclusion that life isn’t always about the outcome of the story, but the transformation that takes place within us along the way.

We are all living a story. We decide what goes on the pages next, and have no one to blame for writing a boring story than ourselves. At one point in the book, Miller made the observation that so many people say that life is meaningless, but really they are saying that their life is meaningless and pushing that generalization on everyone else.

Sometimes it seems easier to sit and think about all the things we want and want to accomplish instead of stepping outside of our doors to actually make those things happen.

Action increases the possibility of conflict, and who wants that? I am the first person to tell you that conflict makes me cringe, and I would do almost anything to avoid it. As Miller says in his book, “Fear isn’t only a guide to keep us safe; it’s also a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life … the great stories go to those who don’t give in to fear.” It’s those conflicts and moments of self-examination that help form us into who we are and need to be. The struggles are worth it to reach the outcome.

The good new is, first of all, that no one is writing a movie about my life.  Secondly, the better news is that we aren’t living our stories alone. One of my favorite quotes from the book says this:

“I am a tree in a story about a forest, and it is arrogant of me to believe any differently. The story of the forest is better than the story of the tree.”

A few days after I finished the book, I had déjà vu doing my daily hw for my LifeGroup Beth Moore Bible Study. There was a quote listed from How to Read the Bible for All it’s Worth stating this: “The story they tell is not so much our story as it is God’s story, and it becomes ours as he writes us into it."

I am but one person among billions on the earth. That fraction is miniscule but the whole is almost unfathomable. The whole wouldn’t be possible without each part. God has given us all a part to play in His story and wants to transform each of us along the way. Its crazy to think that the Creator of the universe chose to write me (quirks and all) into His story.

The way I see it, there is no better choice than to embrace the place God has given me in His story. There is purpose in everything, given that God has a purpose for His story and for us as we are a part of it.

Get up off your couch and go live the life you have been given. Be a part of the story. Make mistakes, learn to love, and be transformed by all that God has waiting for you. At least open a new web page and order this book. It’s worth it. I promise.

Bubbles and Boxes.

A year, 365 days. 3670 hours, 525, 600 minutes (don’t tell me RENT didn’t come to your mind), and 31,536,000 seconds. I’ll be honest. I’m no math genius. I’m a big fan of google, and use it to look up far too many things, including this.

The past week, I’ve seen so many pictures of diplomas, caps (rhinestones included), and gowns. It wasn’t until then that it hit me that it has been a year since I graduated, and safe to say its been one of the fastest, not to mention, surprising years of my life.

Lets hit a few highlights.

• I got my degree
• I learned what it was like to have an emotional breakdown. I guess I was long overdue after 23 years.  
• I started my first “real” job
• I moved to a new city alone

Right before graduation last year, I started praying that God would grow me in more ways than He ever had in the upcoming year. God definitely answered my prayer, but not the way I expected Him to. Funny how He works like that right?

In my mind, I was asking God to teach me a lot from his Word, let me hear some good messages at church, and find a good Bible study. Sure, all of those things happened this year, but those barely encompassed His answer. Don’t ask God for something and expect a human answer. Ephesians 3:20 says it perfectly “ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...”

God’s answer looked more like this. I moved me to Tulsa and was leaving my favorite people in the world in another city. God popped my bubble. Don’t get me wrong, staying where I had been for the past 4 years wouldn’t have been a bad thing. I had a great church, amazing friendships, and most of all security. God knew better than me though. He knew he couldn’t grow me in the way I had asked with my eyes fixed on the things I already had going for me. 

Going through college, I grew in so many ways. Friendships, mentors, professors, pastors, and countless others who invested in my life shaped and formed me over the span of four years. I learned what it meant to have selfless friendships, learned to be independent, and learned what it looked like to have a deep personal daily relationship with Christ. Diploma in hand, and four years under my belt, I was sure God has shaped and molded me into the woman he wanted me to be.

That just shows I was still putting God in a box. Moving to Tulsa, I’ve learned things about myself I would have never seen without stepping out my bubble. I’ve seen so many areas I was placing security in the blessings God had given me instead of in the one who had provided them for me. Temporary security can be found in a familiar face, but true security and joy, crossing all city, state, and country lines, can only come from the Lord. 

The biggest lesson I have learned, is that God isn’t through with me yet, and he never will be. There is always room to grow, learn and change and I am so thankful God continually places people me in my life who are wiser than me to help me find my way when I get off track.

Despite all the change that has happened in the past year, one thing hasn’t changed. God is the one thing that has remained a constant in my life. He has proven himself faithful, answered so many of my specific prayers, and shown me His love in the most unusual places.

What a comfort to serve a constant, loving God.  If life can change so much in 1 year, I can’t even begin to fathom all that will come at me in the future. The thing is though, that I don’t have to, because He holds the future, not me. He has a plan, and knows me better than I know myself.

God may give us 525,600 minutes in a year, but he doesn’t ask us to have every one of those figured out ahead of time. He asks us to live for him moment by moment, and day by day and trust that He will take care of all the unknowns. With His help, that’s something I can handle.