Depth Perception

Last week, I had a health assessment completed that included several vision checks. They checked to see if I could see colors from a distance. It only took me three tries to realize the black was black and not navy blue or purple. There was no problem with distance reading or even reading from a book, as long as I had my reading glasses on.

Lastly, they checked my depth perception. They had these ten groups of four little circles each that were staged to look like an electric shaver. In each group, one of the circles was supposedly 3D. Yeah, supposedly. I explained to the medical assistant that none of them looked 3D to me, so she told me to just guess. Eventually, I guess four correctly but learned, that in reality, I have no depth perception once so ever.

When I told my husband, Randy, he very matter-of-factly explained that he knew that; that he’s seen me parallel park. Who’s he kidding? He was just being nice. I don’t parallel park. When I get home and can’t just pull right in, I call him and he comes out and parks the car for me while all the neighbors watch and laugh. Now I think I’m going to send them all a memo that tells them to stop laughing at me, it’s not my fault!

Although no one in my home agrees, in my mind, this whole lack of depth perception explains a lot of things – why I fall up the stairs, why I trip over my own two feet, and why I walk into people. I am almost happy about this little diagnosis. Now maybe everyone will stop picking on me. Eh, or maybe I’ve just given them way more material to work with. And that’s okay too. I’m a sanguine. I think it means that people love me when they pick on me. I’m too naïve to know better.

We can all laugh at someone having no depth perception, because it is kind of funny, isn't it? But what spiritual depth? Would that be as funny? Eh, maybe not.

Charles Swindoll says in his book, So, You Want To Be Like Christ? that “anyone engaged in Christian ministry - and that should be ALL of us - must be a person of depth if he or she hopes to be effective” and that “the Gospel, from the lips of a shallow person, sounds hollow and insipid. But the same message uttered by a person whose waters run deep compels a curious world to look beyond the superficial.”

So how do we develop spiritual depth? I think Eugene Peterson sums it up well in The Message translation of 2 Peter 1:3… by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.

Is your spiritual depth being more fully developed? Are you spending time getting to get to know Jesus a little more intimately? If not, what is one small change that you could make this week to begin to progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him (Phil. 3:10)?

Miley Says Goodbye?

I have to admit it. I absolutely love watching Hannah Montana with my girls. Who am I kidding? I’d watch it without the girls. Yeah, yeah, I know. I am surrounded by Miley Cyrus haters. You haters can tell me that her voice sounds horrible until you are blue in the face, but I’m not listening. More importantly, I could care less. It’s not her voice that sucked me into the show several years ago. It was her daddy. And speaking of daddy’s… just so you all know, Emily and Mia’s daddy watches Hannah Montana with all three of his girls; me being the third. Every great daddy knows the important of stepping into their little girl’s world.

This evening, we watched the conclusion of “Miley Says Goodbye?” Miley tells her daddy that she wants to move back to Tennessee. He finds and purchases the perfect ranch as Miley begins to second guess her decision. She starts realizing that something just doesn’t seem right and she doesn’t know what to do. Her brother, Jackson, encourages her to take her horse, Blue Jeans, out for a ride. He reminds her that she does her best thinking then. While she is out riding Blue Jeans, her daddy shows up and she begins to talk to him about all of her mixed feelings. He proceeds to tell her that he knew that the change she thought she needed wasn’t the change that she really needed; that’s why he bought a ranch house on the beach just 10 miles away from their current home.

I've heard it said that the best parents make it their business to know their kids better than they know themselves. God’s like that, isn’t He? He always knows what we really need even when we think we know. Many time while we are busy asking for one thing, He’s preparing for us what we really need.

Date Night

My husband, Randy, and I try to be very intentional about frequent date nights. Sometimes it might be dinner out, other times a day trip or some spur of the moment adventure. Our date nights are sometimes on a “shoe-string” budget. One of our most memorable dates was a “shoe-string” budget date, three years ago on our anniversary. We picked up food from the Giant Café in Carlisle and picnicked at King’s Gap. We sat overlooking the valley for hours and talked about our life, our family, our marriage, our disappointments, and our dreams.

Intimate conversations are one of the things that great marriages are made of. Several years ago, Randy and I created a list of questions to ask each other on date nights. Questions like, “What is one thing that I do that drives you crazy?” and “What words would you like to hear me say more often?” help us to more effectively meet the needs of the other. We grow together spiritually when we ask each other questions like, “What is one thing God is doing in your life right now?” and “What has been your greatest spiritual struggle over the last year?” We engage in communication about our future and our dreams with conversation starters like, “What are three things that you want to do before you die?” and “What would your dream job be if you could do anything and get paid for it?”

Tonight, we might take our list along or maybe we’ll come up with some new questions. We have a goal to add 50 questions to our list this year. Regardless of if we take our current list or work towards our new questions goal, we will be intentional about making time for intimate conversation.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 19 that marriage takes a certain aptitude (readiness in learning, talent). Take time this weekend, to develop the talent of communication with your spouse! Maybe ask each other some of the questions I mentioned here. You’ll never regret the time and energy you put into develop a deeper intimacy with your spouse!

FACT or CRAP?

This evening, I was honored to speak to group of ladies at the Brethren Housing Association in Harrisburg, PA. BHA helps homeless and low-income individuals and families achieve their God-given potential by securing housing and providing supportive services and loving relationships.

One of the things we talked about tonight was assumptions and perceptions; how they impact our lives. Yeah, so I played “Fact or Crap” with the ladies to see what assumptions they would make about me, based on the little bit of time they interacted with me before the meeting.

Assumptions made about Sherry by the BHA participants:

Fact: Sherry was a preacher kid.
Fact: Sherry is afraid of heights.
Crap: Sherry can speak three languages fluently.
Fact: Sherry graduated from college.
Fact: At one time, Sherry dealt drugs for her boyfriend.
Crap: Sherry grew up in a Mennonite environment.
Crap: Sherry was homeless at age 21.
Fact: Sherry was a foster parent.

So, they thought that I was a preachers kid (uh, I’m not) but since they assumed I was preachers kid, they assumed that I did deal drugs. Ugh! What is that?!!? Should I be concerned about my kids? They did not believe that I grew up in a Mennonite environment. I did, can you picture me with the pig tails and long dresses? They assumed that I had a college degree; I have a GED. They were smart enough to realize that I can barely speak the English language most days, much less three languages. I must look like a fearful person, because they pegged me as afraid of heights. (Pastor Jeff, please, let’s not try to overcome that fear on the mission trip this year – swimming in the ocean last year was enough!) They believed that I was a foster parent. The one gal said that "I looked like the type." What does that mean?! The ladies couldn’t picture me being homeless at 21 years of age. I was. I lived in my car and then it got stolen. Could you imagine having your house stolen? So sad.

One of the ladies mentioned tonight, that our experiences shape our assumptions. I have a feeling that she is well on her way to making some great life changes!

You know, the dictionary defines assumptions as, “something accepted as truth without proof.” Do you ever do that? Do you ever make assumptions based on your experiences or perceptions? Do you sometimes accept CRAP as FACT? Truth without proof? I don’t just mean about others. How about in your own life?

Do you ever accept CRAP like “I always mess up” or “it’s just never going to work out”? That’s not FACT! That’s CRAP. The Word of God tells us that we have been cleaned up and given a fresh start (Corinthians 6:11) and that God can do more in our lives than we can imagine in our wildest dreams (Ephesians 3:20).

Let's be intentional about not accepting crap as fact. Not about ourselves and not about those around us!

Got a Talking Donkey in Your Life?

Balaam and his talking donkey; I've always kind of liked that story – a talking donkey!

Numbers 22-24, tells us that the people of Moab were terrified of the Israelites. Because of this, Balaam is asked to go with Balak, the son of the King Zippor, to curse them. Balaam had a reputation: those that he blessed stayed blessed and those that he cursed stayed cursed. Hmm, I’m thinking that would probably be someone to stay on the good side of.

When Balak asks for Balaam’s assistance, he tells him right up front that he was going to check with God and only deliver the answer that God gave him. God tells him, “Don’t go with them and don’t curse Israel.”

So Balaam tells Balak, “Hey, God said no and I can’t defy the orders of God in anything big or little, but you can stay with me and I’ll see what God says tonight.” This time, God tells him to along with Balak but to be very careful to only do what He instructs him to do.

As he traveled along, his donkey saw an angel blocking the road. The angel was holding a sword. The donkey veered off the road into a ditch. Balaam wasn't impressed; he beat the donkey. But the donkey saw the angel blocking the road two moe times, two more times he veered off the road, and two more times Balaam beat him for doing so.

After the third time, the donkey asks him, “What have I ever done to you?” Balaam responds by telling him that he was tired of his games and that if he had a sword he would have killed him. I find it kind of odd that Balaam answer. Yeah, kind of odd.

But God gets his attention through the donkey and says to him, “I’ve come here to block your way because you are getting ahead of yourself.” Hmm, so Balaam was following the path that God told him he could follow but it took a donkey to get his attention so God could let him know that he was getting ahead of himself.

Are you following the road that you know God has told you to follow, but there’s a donkey (or two!) that keeps blocking your way? Eh, maybe before you beat the donkey down, take a closer look. Maybe you are getting too far ahead of yourself. Maybe, just maybe, God knows what is in store for you down that road and he needs to remind you the importance of only doing and saying exactly what he tells you to.