My Best Friend Knows Everything

This morning I was driving home at 5:15 am, after just dropping off Biceps for another long day at the Fire Academy. The roads are pretty bare this time of morning and there’s really nothing on the radio-I think the DJ’s are sleeping the night off.

I’m left alone in my silence. I love silence.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good party and I love to entertain. But, I crave silence especially in the morning.

When I get home, the day is still dark, the dogs in my neighborhood aren’t barking (yet) and the birds haven’t even begun to sing. My phone isn’t chiming at me and my inbox is still manageable.

It’s the perfect time to talk to my best friend. And he knows EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING.

Example:

Me: “You know God, I’m really concerned about my friend X.”
God: “Yeah, me too.”
Me: “I think what’s she going through is going to be really hard on her kids. It may affect them forever.”
God: “I know. I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Me: “So, what should we do?”
God: “Well, I need you to be a friend to her, encourage her and pray for her. Jesus, the Holy Spirit and I will take care of the rest. I have a plan.”
Me: “What’s your plan?”
God: “Rebekah, quit being so nosy.”

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After talking about the serious stuff for awhile, then He and I get into a lot of joking. Did you know that GOD created humor? That means He’s the funniest person/being that I know.

Example:

Me: “So, God-what do you have for me to do today?”
God: (in a deep announcer’s voice) “Are you ready for this?”
Me: “Sure.”
God: “I can’t hear you! Are you ready for this?”
Me: “YEAH!”

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*Cue the angels playing “Are you Ready for this”.
*Cue smoke and lights.
*Cue God laughing and dancing wildly with arms over his head.
*Cue me joining in and wishing God gave me the ability to dance better.

Phew. After that kind of a workout, we both sit down and rest a bit.

Me: “That was awesome. So what do you want me to do today?”
God: “Keep visiting with me, and I’ll let you know. But for now, have you called your mother?”
Me: “Oops. It’s past 7, isn’t it? With all that dancing, time got away from me.”
God: “Tell her I said, ‘Hi’ and she’s one of my favorites.”
Me: “Will do, God. Thanks. I love you.”
God: “Oh, Rebekah-you have no idea how much I love you. You are one of my favorites, too.”
Me: “Ah…I bet you say that to all the ladies, don’t you?”
God: “Yep, and to all the men.”
Me: “God, you are pretty awesome.”
God: “I know.”

He really does know everything.

Whine Fest and Concrete Porches

Yesterday, I had a good, old-fashioned “Whine Fest”. Not a wine fest-that would have been awesome. But a “let me tell you all about my current situation, God and wonder where the heck you are in all of this” whine fest. (As if he didn’t already know.)

I complained to Him about how much there was still left to be done on our house, why we haven’t been able to complete it-money and time, how much cat hair there was to dust mop EVERY SINGLE DAY, how frustrated I get when I try to wipe down our very cool, but very rustic concrete countertops and the desperate need for a second car.

He spoke to my heart and told me to be quiet. A.K.A.: “Shut up, you little whiney kid.”

That’s when he reminded me of just how far our house had come. For several years, we remodeled the inside of the house. After saving up, we were finally able to start on the outside of our house. I was excited about removing the ghetto landscaping, broken metal edging and expanding our front porch.

There was hardly enough room on this stoop for one human to stand on it, let alone open the door around them. I wanted a porch big enough for a chair or two where Biceps and I can drink coffee and watch the world go by. And once we build our overhang, we can even enjoy it during a rain.

Phase one of our outside remodel began two springs ago. Biceps and I spent a couple of weeks ripping out the landscaping, building a frame to widen the porch and laying landscaping block.

We went to bed each night tired and sore, but satisfied from a good day’s work.

As there always is in a remodeling adventure, there were stressful moments. We were concerned that the frame wouldn’t hold up and concrete would come pouring out.

Biceps ran a wheelbarrow up a makeshift ramp, filled to the brim with heavy, mushy concrete. He then slopped into the frame and as quickly as I could, I raked and scooped and filled the frame in-while getting super disgusting and tired.

Beauty Tip: If you ever want to thoroughly dry your skin out-just slap some wet concrete on it. Works like a charm.

Then came the two tons of rock to fill the landscaping beds. After weed blocking all of the beds around the house, several days were devoted to hauling and filling up the beds with a level 2-3″ of rock.

The pile of rock seemed to be regenerating itself-it wouldn’t shrink. I cursed my calculations and wondered if I had made a huge mistake.

We went to bed tired, sore and a little frustrated.

Weeks later, I took this picture. My muscles were still sore, reminding me of all we had been through. I was so excited with the progress we had made in a matter of weeks.

We went to bed tired, sore and feeling very accomplished.

But NOW, I look at this picture and see all there is still left to do. The beds need plants, the overhang needs to be built, the screen door needs to be replaced…

…but then when I compare it to the before, I realize just how far our home has progressed.

And God, in his infinite wisdom, gently reminded me of this during my whine fest. Which of course made me cry and ask for forgiveness. Which of course he did.

And which of course led me to go sit on my front porch and thank him for his goodness while enjoying a glass of wine.

“Integrity is what you do…

…when no one is looking”. I can’t tell you who said this-heck-I even googled it (or as my mom says, “goggled” it). I have heard this my whole life-however-I have not adhered to it my whole life. Who doesn’t try to get away with the little things once in awhile?

Here are a few examples, embarrassingly enough, where I have been a woman of less than integrity and where God has knocked me down a peg or two:

“I just go 4 miles over the speed limit. Everyone else does.” Bam! Speeding ticket.

“Of course I didn’t stuff my bra, Mom. Those are kleenexes for later.” Bam! Grounded and forced to write 6 inches out of the dictionary.

“She forgot to charge me for the stuff at the bottom of my cart. It’s a big corporation, it won’t matter to them.” Bam! Convicted and went back to pay for my “free” stuff.

“They left it behind-guess it’s mine now.” Bam! Convicted and they asked for it later, which was awkward.

I hated being less than honest-and worse-I hated being caught. I felt like I had to weave more and more webs to cover up what I had done.

I decided long ago when I was humiliated for another lie, to no longer live that way. Black is black and white is white-even if the world seems to think there are 50 shades of grey.

Here’s what God says about integrity:

“In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.” Proverbs 12:28 (I’d like to have a long life.)

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9 (I want to be secure in who I am.)

Of course I still screw up constantly and make a thousand mistakes on a daily basis. But, above all, I want to make my dad and my Dad proud. This is what is promised me if I do:

“In my integrity, you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.” Psalm 41:12 (That sounds pretty awesome.)

“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” Psalm 25:21

Ever since I decided to live a black and white life, I don’t have to wonder what I need to cover up, who I’ve told what or what I’ve omitted from which conversation.

It’s so simple. It’s so freeing. Why didn’t I do this years ago?

One, Big Happy Family-the Power of Prayer

See this happy family? See that cool girl in red, wearing her big brother’s jacket because she was freezing to death but insisted on wearing that red dress no matter what? The girl with the immovable, poofy bangs protruding from her forehead? Yep, that’s me.

(Usually we were a much happier group. I think the cold froze our smiles off. Or it’s more likely we just sat through one of the most boring sermons at my Grandma’s church and were starving, tired and cold.)

Anywho-when I was about this age, while I sat in youth group one Wednesday night, sporting my sweet Guess jeans and a bright pink Guess T-shirt, my youth pastor told all of us to begin praying for our future spouses NOW.

And so, being the rule follower that I was, I did. I started off asking God for a hot guy. Then, I added to that a Godly guy. Before long, my list had grown to 42 things that I wanted in my man.

And ladies, this was what I was praying for all those years, unbeknownst to me. (If you ever had any doubt about the power of prayer-this is some smoking hot evidence that prayer really works.)

Here are a few things from the Spousal Prayer list of an 11 year old:

1. Brown hair, blue eyes and good-looking
2. Can skateboard (what?!)
3. Looks good at the beach
4. Likes to exercise
5. Hot body
6. Has ridden a bull
7. Encourages me to be me
8. Loves God, loves his family, loves my family and his family loves me
9. Wants kids
10. Likes cats
11. Is a musician, can play an instrument, likes to sing
12. Is a virgin
13. Raised in a Godly home

(It seems the “body portion” was very important to me at that age. Oh wait, it’s still important now.)

There were 42 things total and this man fulfilled my list-and then some. God is so good to a weird little girl and her 11 year-old dreams.

But, let’s take a look at #8 and #13 in particular.

At one point in my life, I dealt with a boyfriend whose family didn’t like me. It was awkward and awful. However, when I met Biceps’ family, they were easy to be around and instantly gave me a nickname-“peel-eater” (for eating the peels on my sweet potatoes-genius, I know).

The “mother-in-law syndrome”-that I thought was inevitable in a marriage-was nowhere to be found between us.

This beautiful woman (on the left) raised her children with God’s wisdom, honors her husband and honors the Lord with her life. Without her knowing it, she answered my prayers-particulary #8 and #13. And I love her for that-and for so much more.

Today is her birthday and I wish I could be there to celebrate with her. Instead, I will say a prayer of thanks that I married into such a wonderful family. And another prayer of thanks for the hot man God blessed me with.

Happy Birthday, Connie. You are an amazing woman of God. And by the way, great job at pro-creating. You made a good one-a real good one (see #1, 3, 4, 5).