true confession

I voted five times for Jason Castro tonight on American Idol.

Is that wrong?

I Love to Dance!

"Velcro... Next to the Walkman and Tab it is the coolest invention
of the 20th century!" Lynn (Helen Hunt) –Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Girls…do you mind if I call you that? I'll explain later…okay, I have a
confession… I love 80's movies! Can't Buy Me Love, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Footloose, and When Harry Met Sally. Each is a classic. But there is one movie that will forever hold a treasured place in my heart and it is the one—the only—Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!


I can vividly recall my 8th grade slumber party in which a throng of preteen girls reenacted scene by scene, or rather step by step of this ground-breaking film. We were so cool. So why did/do I love Girls Just Wanna Have Fun? For starters, I'm always a big fan of movies that include dancing, but throw in neon spandex and you've got yourself a hit. But the number one reason I adore this classic is not for the fashion—though it is exceptional—I heart this movie because of one line, "I LOVE to dance!"

Janey (Sarah Jessica Parker—pre Carrie Bradshaw days) is the new girl in town. Soon she meets Lynne (Helen Hunt) who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, the girls are determined to audition. Honestly I was hooked long before the dance off began. I was a sold the minute Janey looked at Lynn and said the words "I LOVE to dance."

You see, Janey's words resonated with something deep inside me. I too was a girl who longed to dance. I'm not at all saying I was good or even on beat for that matter—but I longed for the sheer bliss of simply letting go and dancing like you just don't care. For Janey, dancing was an expression of freedom. And my heart also desired—deeply desired to be free—free to dance.

Until I met Jesus Christ I was a girl who was anything but free. Shackled to intense insecurity, emptiness, sin, and shame—everything in me wanted to break loose. But I was a prisoner until the day—nearly a decade ago—when Jesus Christ redeemed me with His powerful love and grace. Redeemed! Set Free! Released from the hurt, shame, and emptiness that was my life apart from Him. Today my dancing springs from a deep current of life surging inside me that knows the exquisite joy of being a Redeemed Girl —and you guessed it, "I LOVE to dance!"

"It is for freedom that Christ set you free!" Galatians 5:1

You had me at “fried pie!”

As an author and speaker my work keeps me traveling.
For this reason, I’m blessed to see and experience the uniqueness of this amazing country of ours. Just recently I happened upon another cultural phenom….the fried pie.
Now, if you are from the South you’ve probably experienced the delicious goodness that I’m about to describe.
If not, then I’m sorry for so many reasons.

a. The fried pie is exactly what the name implies—a pie that is fried.
b. Within the flaky folded fried dough one can put their choice of filling: peach, blueberry, chocolate, pecan, and of course, apple.

I’m an apple girl.

I encountered the carb and sugar gold mine off Route 77 in Oklahoma just 3 miles shy of the high road to Falls Creek Camp. But girls, let me just say my mouth started watering the minute I saw the gigantic billboard promising “fried pies ahead” miles before on the interstate. When I saw the sign I began explaining to my traveling companions my affinity for the fried pie. You see, my grandmother made these for me when I was a little girl AND you get all the goodness of an apple pie in a convenient hand-size package.

What’s not to love?

As we neared the exit, I thought to myself, “Will my skinny little girlfriends really stop for a treat?” Then, clearing my throat I asked, “Do you think we have enough time for a quick stop?” From the back seat my size 2 friend said,
“Girlfriend, You had me at fried pie!”
You simply have no idea how much I loved all 100 pounds of her in that moment.

Elated with our off-the-beaten path discovery, we veered off our route for fried pie paradise. Once inside we walked straight up to the counter where we were greeted by the loveliest woman you’ll ever meet. I’m sure it’s hard not to be bubbly when you’re making other people happy all day long.

I digress.

After much debate amongst my traveling crew concerning apple or apricot and to split or not to split—we finally landed on two pies each in a variety of flavors so that we could each get a nibble.
Words fail …Grandma …I’m sorry, but that was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.

So, like I said I was in Oklahoma that particular weekend to speak at a women’s conference. Naturally, before I began my first talk I described in detail and with much passion the fried pie experience.

Fast-forward two days.

On our way back to the airport we decided to stop again at Fried Pie Paradise and stock up for the flight home. As we pulled back in the parking lot we gasped at the sight before our eyes….there was now a line wrapping through the building and out into the parking lot!
It seems my testimony had power.
As I stood in line for nearly an hour to purchase my road trip treat I thought about the power of a personal testimony.

A testimony is simply one person’s account of something. As Christians, our testimonies are our explanation to the world of what God has done in our lives.

For example, my testimony is …
· Jesus redeemed me from a life of sin by dying in my place on the cross.
· Jesus healed me from the painful events of my past and put the broken pieces of my life back together again.
· Jesus is transforming me from the inside out—I am a new creation! I am a redeemed girl!
· Jesus is the reason I live. He gives my life purpose and power.
· Jesus guides me, leads me, protects me, provides for me….
· Jesus, He loves me.
· Jesus is my testimony.

Friends, in Jesus Christ we have something far better than a momentary treat to share with others…we have the key to life itself. Yet, so often we remain silent about the very thing we should be the most passionate about….our relationship with Him.

As I stood in line at Fried Pie Paradise I hoped and prayed that the women from the conference walked away with far more than a tip on a great place to get dessert. My greatest desire is that they know My Redeemer.

I learned a lesson that day. If Redeemed Girls would begin to testify about their Redeemer with the same amount of passion and enthusiasm as we do about new shoes, new recipes, new sales, new diet secrets—our “testimonies” would rock this world with God’s grace.

So dear friend, share the love. Tell the world. Don’t keep a secret your testimony in Jesus Christ. Perhaps, one day a friend will say to you, "Girl, you had me at Jesus."

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12

American Idol's Nameless Savior

I wept during American Idol tonight. Probably not for the reason the show’s producers hoped I would be in tears. it was not the fact that Idol raised millions to help the poor that I cried (although I love the fact that they are “giving back.”) Nope, the reason I wept was at the omission of one name. The name I love more than anything else in the world.
The beautiful name of Jesus.
The talented final eight contestants gathered on stage for a final performance and sang (to my shock and awe) “Shout to the Lord!” When I heard the familiar chords playing I sprinted from my office to the living room and watched in disbelief as the Idol contestants belted out one of my all-time favorite praise songs.
I praised right on with them….until the chorus that is.
I waited as the music built for the dramatic chorus and I anticipated the next line.
Would Michael Johns actually sing “my Jesus, my Savior?”
Alas, he would not.
It seems the producers omitted the Source, the Person, the Savior for which the song is written and ironically the Only One who can deliver the poor and give genuine hope to the nations.
When the contestants finished “shouting to a nameless Lord” I fell on my knees and wept for the state of this world. We cry out for mercy for the poor, healing for the hurt, and hope for the hopeless—and yet, we reject the God who offers us life itself.
I’m not anti-Idol now. I’m just sad.
So, as the credits rolled I sat crossed legged on my hard wood floors and wept for a world that needs redemption and grieved at a moment of authentic worship that could have been.
But, the one thing I know is this…no one will omit His name from my lips. I’ll close with some powerful words from the book of Acts. May they remind all of us of the power in the Name of Jesus!

With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: "Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I'll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is 'the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.' Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one."
Acts 4:10-12 (The Message)

Grits and Girlfriends

I love my girlfriends.
Several of them came over this morning for brunch. I feel so archaic using the word brunch in a sentence, but alas, we are now ladies who brunch…and we simply love it! This gathering was a reunion of sorts for a group of us who traveled to Europe together a few years back. Soon the table talk would turn quickly to statements like “do you remember those hideous shoes you wore…” and “was that really the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish?”
Rewind.
My friends showed up this morning like a gaggle of pink and purple Easter chickens all chirpy and excited for our girls’ reunion. All the giddiness must have given them temporary amnesia because they obviously forgot who they were dealing with and that they were sooooooooooooooooooooo early.
Planned, Punctual, and Practical—not three words that would describe yours truly.
I, the hostess of this get-together am running my typical 10 minutes behind. Who am I kidding? I am running 10 days late. You see, I can never calculate the time it takes to complete simple tasks like: getting dressed, making coffee, taking out the trash, shoving my entire wardrobe (dirty and clean) into my closet and willing the door to close so that my room at least looks clean—a girls’ got a lot to do before 10am. So, needless to say when they arrive 15 minutes til…. I was soooooo not ready.
The door flings open to laughter and casserole dishes and my frazzled self forgetting what Miss Manners would say so I exclaim “you’re early!”
Breathless, I commence to enumerate the reasons why they should delay their arrival at least 9 minutes. And then, with perplexed looks upon their faces, in unison they chimed “but….it’s us.”

• It’s us implies….we know the real you. We know your closet is jammed with all the stuff that was 5 seconds ago on your bedroom floor.
• It’s us implies…like we care if you aren’t Martha Steward or Betty Crocker or whoever the current standard of female perfection is today.
• It’s us implies….we’d rather help you set the table so we can do it together than walk into a immaculately arranged affair.
• It’s us implies…girl I’ve seen you at your worst and at your best and I still love you.
• It’s us implies….you don’t have to be anything but you.
  

One of the greatest gifts of my life is the amazing girlfriends the Lord has blessed me with. William Shakespeare once said, “I am wealthy in friends” and I must agree. God has grace me with friends who have walked with me through the painful wilderness seasons and friends that have celebrated with me on the mountaintop. But mostly, He’s given me friends who love and accept me just as I am—mess and all.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. James 1:17 New International Version