Stuck In Traffic on "Joy Boulevard"

My friends,

I wrote draft one of this poem almost five years ago with the retreat theme of “joy” in mind. As I’ve hit a great number of bumps since then, the message of true joy has become even clearer to me. So, with a few twists and bends, the Holy Spirit has inspired my pen to present it to you with a fresh message. I don’t doubt that in five more years, it will need some tweaking again.

Our lives are constantly changing, and the Lord loves us too much to keep us immature in our faiths. The questions for us are almost always the same, however, no matter what bend in the road: Will we do things our own way or His way? Do we trust Him to lead us where we need to be? Are we walking in His light right now, or do we need to walk away from something taking His place? Have I made Him the center of my life?

I’m praying for each one of You, that You will take the time to ask yourself those questions. The Lord already knows the answers, and He’s willing to lead you to them if you’ll only ask. I have experienced first-hand doing life my own way...trying to find pleasure in stuff this world offers, looking for other fulfillment when His way gets too difficult. It’s in the memory of those mistakes that I care enough to share these words. I hope you will consider them.

Stuck In Traffic on “Joy Boulevard”
By LauraLee Shaw

I was driving down life’s freeway,
Unhappy, no pleasure in sight.
When all at once, I saw a sign:
“Joy Boulevard, NEXT RIGHT.”

Joy Boulevard, I thought...
Then felt immediately compelled--
“I must turn right, I can’t resist,”
So I swerved to hit Joy’s trail.

At first, I was speeding ‘long nicely,
Sheer elation running through my brain;
Reality interrupted with a rude, loud POP!
And I jerked to the caution lane.

Before I knew it, a car appeared,
He said his name was ‘Ease.’
“I’ll change your tire, give you every desire;
Just hand me over your keys.”

Behind me, I suddenly heard a commotion--
I turned to see a stampede...
Car after car, lined up in a row,
Waiting to fill my need.

There was ‘Money’ and ‘Success,’
‘Marriage’ and the usual suspects.
Behind them were others,
like ‘Comfort’ and ‘Rest.’

‘All Smiles,’ ‘Best Friend,’ and ‘Security’
Were honking at ‘Good Job’ and ‘Serenity.’

IT WAS TOTAL CHAOS AND CONFUSION!
...until...
I heard a still small voice begin its persuasion:

What were you thinking?
There’s no true, lasting joy in this traffic.
All of these vehicles, while eager to please,
Will only serve as ‘joy static.’

So I got out of my car and grabbed my spare.
Took me over an hour to complete.
Then I jingled my keys, waved the traffic on by,
And jumped into the driver’s seat.

When at last all the cars had passed me by,
I was tempted to follow them home.
Then I saw a blood red blinking sign,
“Back to Life’s Freeway, NEXT ROAD.”

My car was the only exiting that day,
Resisting JOY Boulevard’s appeal.
But that moment I experienced truest joy,
As I gave the Holy Spirit the wheel.

Whoops, there’s a bump and a curve in the road,
The gas tank is running low.
Engine’s due for an oil change,
And the lane is uncomfortably narrow...

But I’ll accept these challenges on life’s highway,
No more detours for me;
His fruit of joy will drive me along,
Providing all that I need for my journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing.’
The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”
Psalm 16:2, 4 & 11

Once Upon A Time...We All Lived Happily Ever After

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’”
Revelation 21:6

Imagine you’ve been given an amazing book to read in a super comfy chair with no distractions. You open it up and read the credits. The introduction then informs you that this particular book is self-timed, but it doesn’t let you know how long you have to finish it. As soon as you open it, though, you only have a certain amount of time to read it before it self-destructs. The timer has begun the moment you opened the book. How exciting!

The beginning is so thrilling that you are sitting on the edge of your seat and your heart is racing: “Once upon a time…” Your mood changes by the time you get to the middle of the story, and the words begin to run together. You hate to admit it’s even a tad on the boring side. You keep reading, however, because you’ve got an unknown deadline. As you go on, your boredom turns to frustration, then to apathy. When will I get to the exciting part?

It seems to me that this is often the way many of us live our lives on this earth. We’re here, in the middle of our life stories, knowing our days our numbered, and we’re just waddling through or struggling on until we get to the “exciting part” or even the end itself. We know that our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, but we need fresh reminders that He is here with us every day in between, surely, to the very final chapter!

Our Alpha did not come at the beginning only to give us a promise at the end…He came to keep His promises in the middle as well. He says in John 10:10b, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” And He gives us that fullness each and every day through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us and through us: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth…for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18.

Let’s make a great start to this new day in the middle chapter of our life stories. It’s sobering to think that we have no idea how close to the end of our book we actually are. First, though, let’s take a pop quiz over the chapters before this one: “Who have been the main characters in my story? How have I blessed them? How have they made a difference to me? When was the last time I shared the gospel with someone, or even my story?”

And can you recall the plot? “Where was I when I gave my life to Jesus, and what details led up to it? How have I grown as a Christian since then? What sin struggles have been overcome, and which ones am I carrying over?” And on and on…continue to ask yourself some true or false questions and spend this time deciding which facts you need to leave behind and which ones you need the Lord to use to make changes in you today.

Here’s the happy ending: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 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. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21: 3-5

When we know the hope that exists at the end, it makes us want to live our now to the fullest. What stimulating characters, adventures and plots will our lives record this day? What struggles will the Lord allow to shape us and grow us up? Will we choose to be the conflict or the climax in others’ life-stories? Why should we waste a single moment we’ve been given? Let’s live on in the Spirit together, shall we? Until the “HAPPILY EVER AFTER!” So be it.

In the Key of HE,

There's Gain in the Pain/A Study on Contentment

God’s been doing a work in my life. He’s in the process of re-ordering my priorities. I’ve had to give up, let go, press on, fight through, and beg to survive it all emotionally. But the obedience has been there.

Or has it?

When my son was eight years old, he obeyed so beautifully. The reason I say “beautifully” is because he not only complied the first time we asked him to do something, but he did so cheerfully, willingly and calmly. As his freedoms have increased and the innocence of the younger years has decreased, that’s changed a tad (much to be expected with a teenager). He still obeys, but often he’s irritated about it. Resistant. Reluctant.

It’s the pattern I’ve noticed in my spiritual life. I’ve been on the track to Godliness, growing up in Him for awhile now. Not a day goes by that I don’t spend time in His Word, talking to Him, preaching of Him or serving with Him. He is my constant help. And I obey, but often I’m irritated about it. Like a spiritual teenager, I'm Resistant. Reluctant.

I hold back from complete surrender.

After a few weeks of asking, He finally showed me why. My agitated resistance is caused by an unwillingness to suffer—to experience discomfort. I looked up the word “suffer,” because I thought, Lord, I’ve got it so good. What do I know of suffering? Here’s how the definition read in Merriam Webster online:

transitive verb
1 a: to submit to or be forced to endure b: to feel keenly : labor under
2: undergo , experience
3: to put up with especially as inevitable or unavoidable
4: to allow especially by reason of indifference
intransitive verb
1: to endure death, pain, or distress
2: to sustain loss or damage
3: to be subject to disability or handicap

Wowzer. To experience true contentment in Christ, I need to be willing to suffer—to put up with, to undergo, to sustain loss or damage...to submit. I need to endure the pain of dying to my own wishes.

“Then He (Jesus) said to the crowd,
‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways,
take up your cross daily and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
(Luke 9:23-24, NLT)

Does any of this resonate with you? What does “you must turn from your selfish ways” mean to you? Is there anything you’re clinging to other than Him as your source for life?

The cross was all about true, deep, perfect love...but it was also heavy and painful. Non-resistant. Willing.

So are we really walking in willing obedience?

His Word tells us that Godliness is worth striving for, but we gain so much more when it is accompanied with contentment. Godliness is a beautiful thing when it’s lived out of the overflow of the believer’s heart. But add contentment to the equation, and you’ve gained a whole bunch that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. Stuff like peace and joy and true satisfaction. All of this comes from a life that is willing to surrender, my friends, even if pain is involved. Ouch—it hurt just saying that.

This doesn’t mean we don’t have legitimate concerns about something or that we aren’t angered with the unrighteousness of the world we live in. 

But it reminds us that we have no bone to pick with the one true God of the universe.

Here’s what the Lord showed me after doing a short (and incomplete) study on the subject:

Discontentment comes from:
• a bored heart (Ecclesiastes 1:7-9)
• a restless heart (Psalm 131:2)
• a contentious heart (Proverbs 15:18, 22:10; Titus 3:9)
• a comparing heart (2 Corinthians 10:12)
• a self-important heart (Matthew 23:11; Colossians 3:3-4, 12; 1 Peter 5:6)
• an unwilling heart (Isaiah 26:7)
• an ungrateful heart (Philippians 4:11-12)
• an unsatisfied heart (Ecclesiastes 4:6; 1 Timothy 6:8; Luke 3:14)
• an ungodly heart (1 Timothy 6:6, Proverbs 19:23)
• an untrusting heart (Hebrews 13:5, John 14:7-9)

I’m sure there are many more, but this is just where the Holy Spirit took me as I searched the Word. Do any of these describe your heart right now? There is no doubt in my mind that contentment is one of the vulnerable areas the enemy is quick to attack. It is a root of many evils in our world today. It’s what has our nation crying out for “change,” the masses in panic over the stock market, our kids asking for more and their parents searching for significance, success and the fountain of youth.

I’m not content to live with discontentment anymore. You with me? Even if pain is involved in the process, I want to gain the Spirit-filled life the Lord has offered me as I willingly surrender my resistance to Him.

Lord Jesus, You are the perfect shape for the holes in our hearts. You are so willing to be our all as we turn to You to meet our needs. May we call on You, depend on You, have joy in You this day, and every day, as we put our trust in You for contentment. In Jesus' name, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

The Great Gain

My life sings JOY over Word-Filled Wednesday!!!!

In a world where happiness trumps holiness,

where wrong feels right and right is all about feelings,

where money, money, money 

keeps us singing, spending, striving,

where "enough" is NOT

and "plenty" is relative,

God's Word interrupts...

Father God, You define enough, and it is You. Thank You for giving us everything that we need for life and for Godliness, and for the working of the Holy Spirit to produce contentment with our circumstances. Lead us to confess our sins, to turn from them, and to surrender our very lives to You this day. 

In Your all-sufficient name I pray, Amen.

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In the Key of HE,

Dorito Brain Damage

Leaving ocean waves behind today to discuss brain waves. And yes, me wants to discuss Doritos.

Ahhhhhh, Doritos...I used to eat 'em by the handfuls after school as a kid. I would start with one, and before I knew it, half the bag was gone. It never seemed to be enough. I wasn't hungry for more, but my taste buds wanted more, ya know?

Even today, the crunch, the munch, the absolute glorious taste of a Dorito chip overwhelms me. I can't eat them often, because as a person with hypothyroid AND as a former binger set free, I can only allow myself these fattening, unhealthy pleasures sparingly.

Yesterday was that day. Oh myyyyyyy, were them goooooood. Cool Ranch too. Yummers. But ya know, with each chip, the thing I noticed was that I couldn't keep from eating one more. "Okay," I would tell myself, "just oooone more, and that's it." I started to get frustrated, because my tongue didn't feel satisfied, but my tummy did, so I kept tossin them in...even tried letting one melt in my mouth to absorb the flavor. Bleck! Not a good idea.

After I finally got sick of the goopy, powdery flavoring on the top, I stopped. I shoved the bag as far away from me as possible and walked away, as if I were putting down a gun or something: "(((EXCUSE ME, PUT-THE-WEAPON-DOWN)))" may as well of been blaring from a loud speaker in my kitchen with red lights and sirens going off.

That's when it dawned on me. I finally figured out why you can't ever eat just a few Doritos. First of all, I have brain damage from all of the Doritos I ate as a kid. More importantly, I figured out their lil secret. They taste good when they first hit your tongue, (I guess it's all the salty, goopy, powdery flavoring on the top), but there is an icky aftertaste, so it makes you want the next one to have the yummy taste again. Make sense? Pretty soon you're shoveling them in one right after the other so you don't have the aftertaste at all.

So no more. I'm reversing the brain damage caused from the Dorito maker's addiction scheme. I'm saying "no" to them.

Because I can't help but make an analogy out of almost everything, I have to say that Doritos are a lot like sin. Often it tastes good at first...but it always leaves a bad aftertaste. And if a Christian gets to the point where she is just sinning one right after the other in order to avoid the aftertaste, well, some real damage is occurring. She'll eventually have to hear, "Put the bag down and put your hands up," if you know what I mean. Each and every day, we need to examine our lives for sin. When we do so, we'll probably find some. Then we confess it, we toss it to Jesus and put our hands in the air, knowing He is the only One who can cleanse us from it. Ask Him to help you see it coming and avoid it, say "No" to it.

Unconfessed sin brings about heart damage. It puts a wedge between you and an abundant relationship with the Lord. And that's scarey, because first of all, He is the Lord, and He is holy. But second of all, He is the only One who can truly give us the kind of fruit we need to live a victorious Christian life.

The Lord is the real deal. Yes, He tastes so good, it makes us want more, but He completely satisfies our longings in the process. Don't try to substitute Him for that person, that place or that thing. Lift up your hands and praise the Lord.

Psalm 63:4-5 (NLT)
I will praise You as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to You in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise You with songs of joy.

In the Key of HE,

Little Miss Drama's WoW-zer Wings

***Patty Wysong's Fiction Fridays meme is being hosted by Joanne Sher over at An Open Book today. If you'd like to participate with your own post, click here. To learn more about Fiction Friday's, click here:



Little Miss Drama’s ‘wOw’zer Wings
By LauraLee Shaw

“I just hate my life, Molly!” eight-year-old Jessica exclaimed to her favorite doll. Jessica, the Moore family’s drama queen, often talked to Molly when her life seemed to be falling apart—which was quite often.

“I’ll betcha’ Tinkerbell never had to clean her room. Her mom prob’ly just let her fly and sparkle her whole exciting life long!” Jessica plopped Molly into her lap and tied a bonnet around her braided hair. “Let’s go out to the playhouse, Molly. We need some ‘WoW’ in our day.”

As Jessica made her way down the stairs with Molly clutched against her chest, she whispered, “Besides, we won’t have to listen to Cameron’s loud music out there. He’s going through a phase, you know.”

“Where ya’ goin,’ Sweetie Pea?” Jessica’s mom asked.

“Molly and I are going to the playhouse for some ‘WoW.’ Maybe this time I’ll get my wings.” Jessica skipped through the back door as her mom stared after her. Just the night before, they’d had a discussion about the special fairyland Jessica had discovered inside her playhouse. Supposedly, she’d found a secret door that led to a place where she could fly and be free to imagine all she wanted.

“Oh-that sounds lovely. What’s it like to fly?” her mom had asked her.

Jessica’s eyes grew the size of saucers. “Welllll—I haven’t actually flown yet, but I’ll be getting my wings any day now. And then I’ll be free—free like a bird,” she explained.

Each time Jessica took Molly to visit her dream world, the routine was the same. First, she’d sit Molly down on her wooden rocker. Then she’d pose the doll’s hands perfectly over her lap. Finally, Jessica would instruct Molly to watch closely as she opened what she had named the ‘Door of WoW.’

Shimmery dust would whisp through the entryway, and two beautiful young fairies would flutter into the room. They would dress Jessica in the loveliest of attire—full of sparkles and sequins—with shiny shoes to suit the outfit. They flaunted an extra pair of magical wings each time, but before Jessica could grab them, the fairies would fly away.

This particular day, though, as Molly sat faithfully to the side, the fairies greeted Jessica at the ‘Door of WoW,’ carrying a colorful set of feathered wings. “Today, you have earned your wings.” The fairies’ musical voices sang the words Jessica had been waiting to hear as they flew around the playhouse.

“WooooooW, can you believe it, Molly? I’m getting my wings today. See how perfect they are? They’ll carry me wherever I wanna go—up over the rooftops all the way to the fluffy clouds—with only the sound of the birds chirping their wonderful song.”

As the young fairies held the wings in the air, Jessica stared in wide-eyed amazement at their perfection. She spun around, thrust her arms out to the side, shut her eyes as tightly as she could—and waited as the young fairies fit her with her new wings.

Suddenly, the ground shook. The thumping impact caused Molly to fall off her rocker. The entire playhouse transformed into a forest. There was even a sparkling stream flowing throughout. And Jessica was flying! She soared just above the stream but below the trees. She shrieked shrills of sheer delight as she learned to fly. Jessica looked down to see that Molly had landed safely on top of a fluffy bush. “Now, thiiiiiiiiis is the liiiiiiiiiife, Molly. Look at meeeeeeeeeee—I’m flyyyyyyinnng.”

Longing to turn cartwheels on the clouds, Jessica decided to fly up, Up, UP toward them. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the trees. Jessica’s ‘wOw’zer wings had snapped right in two, plummeting her DOWN, Down, down to the earth below. She belly flopped into the stream with a splatter.

Her arms flailing, Jessica cried, “Molly! I can’t swim!” After a short struggle, her toes found the muddy bottom of the water, and she waddled her way out onto solid ground.

“You call these things wings?” she squawked as her heavy feet sloshed back to Molly. “Thanks anyway, fairies, but you can keep ‘em. They’re worthless! I wanna go home.”

Jessica opened her eyes, and she found Molly rocking in her chair looking quite content. “Oh, Molly, I’m so glad you’re alright. That flying thing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be!”

As she burst through the back door to her house, a delicious, familiar smell welcomed Jessica. Her mom was waiting for her with a huge platter of fried chicken.

“Hey, Sweetie Pea—I thought you might be hungry. You want a couple of wings like usual?” her mom asked.

Jessica brought her hands to her head and belted out, “Oh, n-n-no-no-NO, Mom. NO WINGS. If it’s all the same to you, we’ll stick with the legs from now on—won’t we, Molly?”

Author’s food for thought: Are there WINGS in your life?

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8—(NIV)

Moral: All that glitters is not gold.

(c) Copyright 2008 LauraLee Shaw

In the Key of HE,