She Has Loved Me Much

I can't help but wonder why she was there.  Perhaps she wondered the same thing herself.  Had she felt herself drawn to hide in the shadows in hopes of getting a glimpse of this man Jesus she kept hearing so much about?  I can imagine someone with her reputation would have a hard time believing all the things she had heard about him and would need to see them for herself.  Or had she already encountered him before and stood in wonder as he looked deep into her eyes until she realized he knew every sordid detail of her past yet forgave her just the same.  Had she sought him out, waiting for an opportunity to reciprocate that unconditional love or had she just happened to be there and acted totally on impulse?  I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that irregardless of whether her salvation experience took place some time prior to this incident or on that very night, her worship was pure, came from the depths of her soul and portrayed a genuine example we would do well to follow. . . .

Jesus lay inclined at the feast set before the guests and patiently listened to the conversation around Him. Everyone seemed more interested in impressing the crowd than in showing Him any respect, and seemed to talk at Him and not with Him. In fact, as was the custom of the day, no servant had been sent with a basin of water to wash off the day's dirt and grime from His feet.  How could they treat Jesus with so much disregard? Perhaps as she stood there contemplating the situation, straining for a glimpse of the wayward servant who was tardy in fulfilling his role, memories of her own sinful past flooded her soul, and she began to feel that of all the people present in that household, it was HER responsibility!  You can tell from her actions and demeanor that she did not consider this task a duty but a great honor and privilege as she poured out her heart to Him freely and openly.  For probably the first time in her life, she knew what it was to be loved - an agape love - unconditionally.  And her response was a single-minded yearning to return that love.  In that very instance, her priorities slipped into their proper place and Jesus became first in her life.  She did not let the fact that there were people around them who would vigorously disapprove have any affect on her focus.  She did not worry that she didn't have access to water and a towel. She willingly sacrificed her entire life's savings - her security for the future - an alabaster jar of valuable perfume that had taken her years of saving to purchase - to worship Him.  By doing so she let Him know she was putting her complete and total trust in Him. She showed her sincere repentance by rinsing them with her own tears, and she showed her complete willingness to do anything for Him by using her very own hair to wipe them clean.  She didn't hold anything back.

I have to stop and think for a minute about my own worship experiences.  Is Jesus my first priority?  All the men at the feast had their priorities out of whack.  They were thinking more about themselves and their desires or needs than Jesus who sat across from them. May I open my eyes and see HIM - put HIM FIRST and not myself.  Do I hold anything back? Do I have an alabaster jar filled with something valuable that I could so easily place my trust in instead of Him?  My relationships?  My bank account?  My career?  My status?  My position?  How hard is it to not only give those alabaster jars to Him but to do so freely and willingly and openly?  Am I so willing to commit all that I am and all that I do for His glory that I wouldn't question wiping oil and dirt from His almighty feet? 

When we truly love Him genuinely without regard to anything else around us; when we willingly give up all our Alabaster jars for Him; when we totally commit all that we are and do for His glory; when we become "broken and poured out" at His feet just as this young woman was . . . our priorities - fall into their proper order. God's order - where He is first and everything else is in its proper place according to HIS perspective and not mine.

How sweet to hear Him say, "She has loved me much." She has loved me much...personally, I think those words of affirmation that I have pleased God are worth any Alabaster Jar I could possibly ever own. 

copy written by Robin Kelley

What's Your Shape

Originally posted on
September 26, 2011

Now, I don't mean your physical body shape, and I don't mean are you IN shape.  I mean what is your spiritual shape?  Let me explain.

Jamie Hovey did a great job the last two weeks teaching us about balance in our lives: putting God first, our husband second, our children third, and everything else last.  (Of course, if you are not married, God IS your mate, and, lucky you, your mate is perfect!)  She gave us some practical tips for saving time like  cooking up a month's worth of meat at one time and freezing it in meal size bags.  The more time I have spent meditating on her lessons, though, the stronger I feel that all the time saving techniques in the world aren't going to really make a difference if our relationship with God isn't in good shape.

I keep envisioning myself as a stick figure.  (Yes, I know.  Corny!  But bear with me.)  If the body of my stick figure is a circle -  if I am just fitting in time with God whenever or IF I get a chance as I "roll" throughout my day, I'm going to "bounce" around out of control "hitting" one obstacle after another.  If the body of my stick figure is a square and I am trying to give equal importance to every area of my life, I am going to get stuck and not be able to move.  When I finally do get moving, it will take great effort, and I will "clunk" along exhausted and frustrated.  My time with God is there, but it is jumbled up with everything else I have to do on my to do list. Ahhhh, but if the body of my stick figure is a triangle with the tip pointing upward, and the base being my relationship with God, followed by my relationship with my husband, then my children, then everything else....everything is good.  God is my foundation and I am open for Him to fill me up with His Spirit, and as I am filled He covers every area of my life.  My stick figure is then clothed and ready for her day whatever it will bring.  

So what shape are you?  Are you a circle just rolling through your day fitting God in whenever you get a chance?  Are you a square giving everything equal importance with your to do list and God is just one more thing to mark off as "done"?  Or are you a triangle with a foundational relationship with Him open to be filled with His Spirit to cover every area of your life?  When we allow Him to do so, our days are not perfect but they are more balanced for every decision we make, every thought we have, everything we do will be influenced by Him.

"Lord, help me keep you as my foundation today.  Fill me with your Spirit that you may cover every area of my life."

copy right by Robin Kelley

used with express permission

Making Hubby #2

Originally posted on September 21, 2011

Since my last post detailing Jami Hovey's first lesson on Balance, I have been asked more than once how one successfully makes their husband number 2 in their life when there are so many responsibilities and distractions demanding our attention.  I don't claim to be an expert on the subject by any stretch of the imagination; however, I am going to post my thoughts here, and I want you to feel free to add comments as to how you personally give your husband proper place in your life.

First, you need to know a little background.  My husband and I have been married 31 years and have 4 grown children, 1 fantastic daughter-in-law and 1 perfect grandson.  During that 31 years, Stephen has traveled extensively 26 of those years and still does.  To give you a little perspective, our oldest "child" will be 28 tomorrow.  There have been many, many days that the only interaction I had with my husband was 15 to 30 minutes very late at night when he would call and we would discuss family and household business.  Both of us would be so very exhausted by this time, but I looked forward to it all day.

I think we often equate putting our spouse in a place of priority in our lives with spending a major amount of time with him.  Don't get me wrong.  We need to spend time with our husbands, but I contend making them number 2 is as much or more of an attitude issue as a scheduling issue.  Let me explain.  Remember when you first fell in love?  Whenever anything good or bad happened throughout the day, you just couldn't wait to share it with "him".  Right?  Do you still feel that way?  Remember how you would rather spend time with him than go out with "the girls"?  Do you feel that way now?  We must covet that relationship and make a direct effort on a daily basis to let him know that he is the most important person in our lives whether we get to spend just a few quality minutes with him or a few wonderful hours.

Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Remember to pray for him every day.  Don't hesitate to let him know that.  Let him know you are praying for a specific issue he is dealing with that day, etc.
2. Remember to pray with him.
3. Buy a dry erase marker and write "I love you" or "I respect the way you work so hard to provide for our family" or "Thank you for being such a wonderful dad to our children"  etc on the bathroom mirror.  Don't panic.  It will clean off!
4. Write him a love note and put it in his computer case, lunch box, wallet, etc. so he'll find it during the day.
5. Buy his favorite snack and have it sitting in the car for him to find when he leaves in the morning.
6. Text him a message during the day.
7. Look for ways to brag about him to your kids, friends, etc.  - especially in front of him!

You get the idea.  He needs to know you love, respect and  think he is a man above all men!  Yes, you have to make an effort to spend quality time with him, but you can do things in between during your busy days to let him know that he is number 2 in your book.  Use your imagination and your knowledge of what is important to him.

Oh, and by the way, I asked my husband this question before posting this.  You might be interested to know the male perspective in this household anyway was the same as mine!  Have a good day, ladies, and add your ideas of how you make your husband know he is number 2!

copy right by Robin Kelley

used with express permission

"So What Did You Do All Day?"

Originally posted September 18, 2011

It has been more than two decades now, but I can still remember it like yesterday - the day the love of my life walked in the front door at the end of the workday, picked up one of our small children, looked pointedly around the room, and innocently asked a question that has reverberated through my heart and mind every day since...

"So what did you do all day?"

As I stood there vacillating between a flash of indignation and the sting of betrayal, my day's activities raced through my head at warp speed.  While dealing with an onslaught of dirty diapers, dirty dishes, and dirty clothes, I had fed, clothed, rocked, consoled, refereed, played with, cuddled, read to, bathed, taught, sang with and cared for four wonderfully active children.  At the same time I had run errands, picked up an unending rotation of clutter, answered a million questions, and started dinner.  I was exhausted, but I had received a bounty of hugs and kisses, "I love you, mommy's", and precious time spent with four of the most important people in my life.  BUT, I have to admit, though he has NEVER asked me that question again, I often ask it of myself.  I get to the end of my day, look around and can't help but ask myself,

"So what DID you do all day?"  

It's a valid yet often frustrating question because I always seem to have more "list" than I have hours.  This has been true in every stage of my life.  Not long ago one of my daughters wisely told me, "Mom, I think all the women in our family have a tendency to try to be everything to everybody.  We try to do it all."  Unfortunately, she's right.  Everything I have on my to do list  - all my responsibilities - are good things, but I have to ask the hard question, "Are they all things God has asked me to do?"  If not there is no way I am going to be able to balance my day and all that I have to do.  There is no way I am going to be able to do everything to best of my ability to bring honor and glory to God.  So how do I balance it all?  No matter what age or stage you are at right now, the answer is the same:

• Put God first
• Put your spouse second
• Put your children third
• Put your home and it's responsibilities next
• Put everything else last

Read it again.  It's too important to take lightly.  This is God's "formula" to help us take our crazy busy lives and successfully be all He asks us to be - no more, no less.  It goes directly opposite what the world says we should do as a modern woman; however, we must accept that God did not make us to be Super Woman.  We must give our day - our hectic schedules - to God every morning.  We spend time with Him so we will be in tune with Him all day.  He will give us strength and peace that we need to deal with the situations we will encounter, but we have to make the decision that we are going to make our choices throughout the day based on this set of priorities - not what the world says we are entitled to. 

So here is an experiment Jami Hovey gave us to try for the week.  Download this form and mark how you spend your day so you can have a visual picture at the end of the week to show you how you are spending your time.  You might want to even color code it to help you get a more visual picture.  For instance, time spent with God in red, time with your husband in blue, time with your kids in green, etc.  Bring this with you to Titus 2:4 Women Wednesday for part 2 of Jami's lessons on Balance the practical application.  

"God has not given us a spirit of timidity (cowardice), but of power and love and discipline (sound judgment)."

1 Timothy 1:7 

Nor does He give us exhaustion, frustration, and that sense of being so overwhelmed we can't breath.  So let's submit to His will for our priorities and claim that power, love, discipline and all the peace and joy that come with it.  Sounds like a great trade to me!  I can't wait to hear Jami's practical applications Wednesday night!!

Copyright by Robin Kelley

used with express permission