A Peep for all people

Peeps come in a variety of marshmallow-ie flavors and forms. There are Peep Chicks and Peep Bunnies. There are Peep delights, dipped in chocolate, and Peep pops, conveniently stacked on a stick. There are big Peeps and little Peeps. There are orange Peeps and blue Peeps. Sweet Peeps, sour Peeps and even sugar free Peeps - an oxymoron if there ever was one. Marshmallow lovers can have their Peep in nearly any flavor they crave and the adventurous can even bite into a gooey surprise mystery flavored Peep.
Here, there and everywhere there are marshmallow Peeps for all people. Unless you don't like marshmallows. Then you are peeping out of luck.
Now, for those who don't salivate at the thought of a corn syrup chick shaped marshmallow mess, you need not feel left out. Contrary to what you might believe, you can still enjoy a Peep - a very special Peep. The good news is this Peep doesn't come with preservatives and is naturally sugar free. This one Peep suits all taste buds and is relevant past Easter. This one variety of Peep  never goes stale and doesn't need the excuse of a bunny hoping holiday to be enjoyed.
For you, both marshmallow lovers and marshmallow adverse, God is your Peep.
God is the Peep that doesn't stick to your teeth. God is the Peep who doesn't leave hands sticky. God is the Peep that isn't on every diet's "don't" list. God is the Peep that never runs out of stock.
Have you ever enjoyed God as your Peep? He promises to be satisfying. And He'll never leave you with a tummy ache. He comes in one variety but takes all forms. You'll find God your Peep while walking through a store or in the church sanctuary. You can find God outdoors. You can even find God, your one and only Peep, in the solitude of your bedroom. He isn't stuck in a package and He isn't exclusively kept in the company of white rabbits. God is every where and always present.
If you haven't had God as your Peep, what's stopping you? Why wait to enjoy the world's most soul-satisfying sustenance? Why fill up on this world's marshmallows when you could have the eternal sweetness of the heart?
Trust me, no matter what flavor Peep you pick up on the shelves this Easter, God is the everlasting Peep for you.

With or without evidence

Eight years.
Eight years without a menstrual cycle.
Eight years of infertility.
Eight years post menopause.
And I'm only twenty six, almost twenty seven, years old.

According to human logic and medical science, my reproductive system is as good as dead. That determination was hinted at in the very first year I lost my womanly flow. By year five doctors stopped hinting around my bleak child-bearing future. The fact of infertility was stated as plainly as "The sky is blue." No emotion. No consolation. No hope for a different future.
I remember laying on the table in the gynecologist's office when she flatly stated that I demonstrated all of the signs and symptoms of premature menopause. The night sweats, the lack of a cycle for years, my hormones and my physical condition all led to the same conclusion. My body's reproductive system had skipped decades. Now the deed was done and my ability to bear children, over.
I asked her if this could be reversed. She told me no, that this is a permanent condition. Once the die is cast there is no going back.
Her response wasn't surprising. Upon further investigation her understanding of the reproductive system and its charted course is the standard in the medical world. Even the Mayo Clinic doesn't hold out hope for premature menopausal women. All they have to offer are experimental fertility treatments with discouraging success rates. Doctors focus instead on the risks of wasting bones and coping with emotional instability. In other words, just manage it. Fill this prescription. See this therapist. Check back in six months. But don't get your hopes up.
I left that appointment under a cloud of defeatism, never to return again. I wasn't willing to come to their conclusion. I decided right then and there to choose a different conclusion: hope and trust God to determine the future of my fertility.
Now it has been seven years since I lost my reproductive functioning and the cycle hasn't returned and, quite frankly, there is not a shred of evidence that it ever will. Still, I have hope. I still have faith that God can work a miracle if He so chooses. I still believe that God is in control of the inter-workings of my body. Without a shadow of a doubt I know that God has the power and ability to intercede on behalf of my reproductive system. He can, at any moment, step in and change the course of my fertility future.
The trust and confidence I have in God does not conform to the logic of medicine. What I know about God is not written up in medical journals. The assurance I have is not based on testing and doesn't rest on a diagnosis. The solid rock on which my faith stands is rooted in the Almighty God.
Flow or no flow. Cycle or no cycle. Evidence or no evidence. I trust God. I trust Him with my fertility. I trust Him with my future. I trust God, my truly great Physician.

The goose on the road

From the driver's seat of my car, traveling at a quick seventy mile an hour clip, my eyes took in an unlikely sight. A goose crossing the interstate highway. The goose was traveling solo and headed right for my lane. She slowly waddled and wobbled across the first lane of highway, dodging the busy Saturday afternoon traffic. She barely escaped the grill of the Dodge Ram dully truck speedy ahead of me. I watched as cars swerved violently to avoid a feathery crash.
Meanwhile, the goose seemed to be absolutely oblivious. She swayed back and forth, pausing mid-lane. She took a few steps forward then a few steps back. It was as if this silly goose wasn't even sure it wanted to cross the road. Her pace was entirely noncommittal. And although I assume she could fly, her wings showed no signs of an impending flight. She just shuffled along, halting here and there, causing dozens of near accidents.
When it was my turn to play Dodge Em' with the goose I let my foot off the gas, checked my rear and side mirrors, then performed the driving equivalent of a bob and weave. Success. I missed the goose who was still lingering on the dotted line of the northbound lanes.
Intrigued by the goose's journey, and hoping her trek wouldn't end in tragedy, I slowed down and watched from my rear view mirror as a dozen cars, trucks and vans entered onto the highway. In the flurry of motorized vehicle activity I was sure the goose was toast. For a moment or two I couldn't see her at all.
But then a miracle. Out of the zooming and speedy cars the goose appeared, not in the air and not in the grill of a truck, but on the shoulder of the highway, upright and unharmed. She was still waddling and still oblivious. The goose emerged victorious from the traffic and onto the safety of the highways brim without a single feather out of place.
This silly, some might say stupid, goose who had no concern for the dangerous traffic and no understanding of the doom of walking on the interstate highway, stepped off the pavement and into safety, completely unharmed and entirely unfazed. The goose played a real life round of Dodge Em' and won! She survived a miracle and she didn't even know it.
With the goose out of danger and safely on her way to her next death-defying adventure I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of her journey and the amazing similarity it has to my own. Although I've never tried to cross the interstate on foot and I've never waddled (at least I don't think), I too have traveled through life in imminent danger without knowing it.
As I watched the goose in my rear view mirror I saw in my own past the death-defying journey traveled in complete oblivion, unaware of the risk. I tried to walk through life outside of God's will. I stepped off His path and immediately entered an interstate highway with evil threats and doom speeding at me with all of the force of a Hemi engine.
And there I was, as ignorant as the goose on the interstate. Without a care in the world or a thought of God, I traveled alone, pausing here and there, indifferent to the danger swerving and zooming all around me.
But that's when a miracle occurred. The miracle occurred.
My salvation.
It was while I was standing in the middle of the highway with death and destruction hurtling towards me that Christ rescued me. He swept in and saved me. The dangers were coming fast and the traffic was overtaking me but Jesus provided me a way out. He carried me to the shoulder of the road. He won for me the ultimate game of Dodge Em'.
The goose on the highway eventually faded out of my sight but her waddle hasn't left my mind's eye. I am that goose. I have been rescued, saved and redeemed. I have been given another chance at life. I have been given the amazing, miraculous opportunity to take another adventure and see another day.
And this time I'm taking a different journey. On this adventure I'm staying on God's path and off of the world's highway. From now on I'm fleeing from the danger of the interstate and staying beside my Savior because I know He can keep me, and the goose, eternally and everlastingly safe and sound. 

Have you been thinking about eating a promise based diet?

"Stephanie, have you been thinking about eating more plant based?"
My e-mail inbox is always asking me questions and addressing me by name. If you ask me, it's a bit disconcerting that the internet knows so much about me and my eating habits. And that I'm a hopeless sucker for email marketing campaigns. So, despite being perfectly content with my plant to non-plant based food intake ratio, I open the email.
Thankfully an evil spam scheme is not underway and my computer is not hijacked by an unseen intruder. The email is just the latest newsletter from Nature's Path Organic Foods encouraging me to eat more greens. The email instructs me to, "Leave the earth better than how I found it." Clickable spring-themed pictures of beets and rhubarb attempt to persuade me to follow the link and switch to a plant based diet. A bounty of fresh produce accompanies promises of five solutions for plant-based diet deficiencies. A hearty bowl of peach oatmeal beacons me to tap my mouse and enter the world wide web to discover the coconut topped recipe.
But the newsletter's messages fail to entice me to click, read or share. The pretty pictures and professional graphics don't compel me. Instead of following the links I tap on the trashcan.
I suppose it was silly to ever open the email in the first place. I haven't been thinking about eating a more plant based diet. I haven't been thinking about diet at all. Well, not my physical diet. I've been more focused on improving another area of my nutrition - my spiritual diet.
Organic food and plants may be the best fuel for the body but what about for the soul? Even the juiciest peaches mixed with the best oats and freshest flaked coconut can't satisfy the spirit. Switching to a plant based plate won't change anything in the heart. Fixing the deficiencies in my diet does nothing to solve the deficiencies of my immortal soul.
The most important diet, the diet that will bring me true health and wellness, is the diet that nourishes the spirit within me. The sustenance on my soul's plate is of eternal value and so I'm choosing my meals wisely. I'm deciding to feast on God's promises.
Unlike plants and the food of this world, God's spiritual food will never rot or spoil. His promises never go bad. The diet He has perfected never changes. It is not subject to the comings and goings of the latest superfood crazes.The goodness of God's eternally nourishing diet is the same today as it was yesterday and it will be tomorrow. I need not wait for the latest newsletter from God proclaiming the latest promises. They are already written in His Word as fresh today as the day they were penned. The promises of God are always in season, a never ending bountiful harvest.
God's promises give new life to body and soul. His truth breathes enduring health and wellness into my eternal spirit.
So the truly important question is this: Have you been thinking about eating a more promise based spiritual diet? I promise you it is a diet more enriching than a hearty bowl of coconut topped peach oatmeal. Beloved, when you and I feast on God's Word and His truth our hearts will be well fed, without a single deficiency.
Give God's diet a try. Switch up your plate. Change what you're feeding your very soul. With God's promises as your nourishment you will be eternally satisfied and forever filled with God's enduring truth and everlasting goodness.

Spiritual Equipment

In a past post I shared about a unique item I keep in my car at all times - beach glass. For years I have kept a few stray pieces of beach glass in the center console to remind me that God can make the broken beautiful. It is His specialty and every time I look down and catch a glimpse of the tiny pieces of smooth blue and green glass I remember that God will use the storms and waves of my life to make me beautiful, too.
Beach glass is an essential part of my car's equipment, as important to me as the jumper cables I keep in the trunk and turbo engine under the hood. The beach glass is my car's spiritual equipment. Since the beach glass has been such a blessing and encouragement to me throughout the years I decided to dedicate more of my car's center console space to God's promises.
So I bought a little silver cross necklace and placed it among the beach glass to serve as a constant reminder of Christ's sacrifice. When I look at it I remember to put the cross always before me and to live for Christ alone. The world and all of its trouble fades into the distance when my gaze is fixated on the cross.
And then, just a few inches from the cross and the glass is a stone, smoothed and perfected by a skilled craftsman. On the stone is written a Biblical promise, a simple verse, Proverbs 2:8. "For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones." 
Each day I climb in and out of my car countless times and if I'm honest most times I fail to actually read the words on the stone. I glance down at the gear shift and my eyes catch a glimpse of the sand stone keepsake in the center console but they fail to pause, read the words and internalize the message. More often than not I throw the car into drive or reverse and never meditate on the truth staring me in the face. 
But today I turned the car on and, just as I was about to put my foot on the break, something inside of me paused. I pulled my foot back and gazed down. First I saw the cross, then the beach glass and then the stone. Slowly and deliberately I read the words silently to myself and a flood of relief washed over me. It was as if I were reading the stone for the very first time, as if the message were entirely new. As if it were the first time I had heard the good news of God's steadfast protection and provision. 
I realized in that moment how often I read God's word, see His goodness and take in pictures of His sacred truth and fail to internalize the message. I go through the motions without letting the magnitude and gravity of the promises of God settle in my heart and give me true peace. God is constantly flooding my life with love letters and daily reminders yet in haste and routine I so often miss them. If only I would pause for a moment I would see that God is all around me offering me the bedrock of His promises and truth.
If today you find yourself feeling abandoned, wondering if God has left you alone on your car ride of life, I promise you He has not left your side. Remain faithful and remain fixated on His promises. Take a moment before you put the car in drive to look to your Guide and Protector and remember that He is there with you. He'll never leave you alone on your journey. 
Sometimes you and I fail to see Him. We go through the motions and never stop, look and listen. We look right past the Cornerstone. We just want to drive. But God is patient and He is waiting for us. His promises aren't going anywhere and neither is His protection. Remain faithful, dear friend. Remain faithful and fixated on Christ, the solid rock on which we can always stand.

God's salt for life's ice

A fresh, foot deep blanket of snow nearly kept me from venturing outside to take the dogs on their daily walk. I looked out the kitchen window and saw a blowing, blustering scene of freezing flakes. Beneath the snow covered roads I was sure slick ice lay in wait, ensuring a treacherous trip around the neighborhood.
All morning long I avoided the routine walk until afternoon rolled around and pathetic puppy eyes beckoned me to put on my boots and bundle up. I put on the mindset of the mailman and claimed their motto as my own pledge to my pups. And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. No, I would not let a foot of snow, freezing temperatures and gusts of windy white stop me from my daily dog walking rounds.
One minute into our walk and my concerns were confirmed. Ice. Lots of ice. As we walked I carefully placed my feet to catch the snow but that created trouble of its own. The thick, heavy snow made every step laborious. The walk was quickly becoming a workout and not even my winter-loving Schnoodles seemed to be enjoying it. But I was determined and dedicated so the walked continued.
The wind was nearly blowing us over as the dogs and I made a right turn onto the main road of the neighborhood and that's when I saw it. Ice-free, salt-covered, snow-less pavement. The sight was so marvelous I blinked twice just to make sure it wasn't a mirage. But it was real. Winter's warrior snow and salt trucks had swept the surface of the road with relief for this weary walker and her frosty pups. I stepped onto the black pavement with confidence. The soles of my boots gripped the salt and kept me steady. My steps were no longer heavy and labored. It was easy walking all the way down the road.
The dogs and I took the main roads as long as we could until we had to turn back up a side road. Back on snowy, icy ground we slipped our way up a little hill and into the driveway. Once through the front door the dogs went racing into the living room where they bolted around the house with all the enthusiasm of released hostages. Or cold Eskimos finally exposed to warmth.
Although it took me a few more seconds to untie my boots and discard my winter garb, I shared in their relief but for an entirely different reason. I was full of relief because of the salt that covered the ice. And I don't mean the road salt that covered the icy pavement. I was relieved because of the salt of God's Word that covers my icy heart.
On that walk as I slipped over ice and labored through heavy snow I saw what my life is like apart from God. Without His help, trying to push through trials and struggles on my own, my journey is tiresome, toilsome and not very enjoyable.
But God wants to help. He wants to cover my life with the salt of His Word and the promises of His truth. God has the power and the will to clear the snow covered lanes of my life with the indwelling of His Holy presence. He wants to help me as I walk. He wants to guide my steps and make way a path that is peaceful and steady.
On my walk through the snow, faced with gusty winds, I saw that God can make a way for me even when life is blustery. He is mightier than snow plows and salt trucks and He can sweep away trouble even when the snow is falling. When I call on God in the storm He shows up and clears my path. He gives me salt to cover my heart and steady my steps so I to walk down His road with confidence.
Road salt is good and plows are a blessed sight but the salt of God's Word and the plows of His promises are infinitely better and eternally necessary. In every season, in every storm God is always available with rich storehouses full of the heavenly salt and holy plows to make our journey down His path one of peace and assurance.

A sacred smile

Every time Ellen walks through the door I'm blessed. She always comes bearing the gift of a smile and an aura of peace. There is something special about her smile that exudes joy and contentment. When I look out the window of the coffee shop and see her approaching I can't help but smile, too.
Ellen's effortless smile radiates everywhere she goes but it might go unnoticed if it weren't for her most obvious attribute - her walker.
Ellen was born healthy with full functioning of every limb and organ. She was adventurous and outgoing all throughout her growing up years. As an adult she enjoyed friendships, romance and a life full of dreams for the future. But one motorcycle ride changed everything. One summer night's drive turned Ellen's world upside down.
The accident happened in an instant. One moment Ellen was on the back of her boyfriend's motorcycle and the next she was hanging on for dear life. The future looked bleak but Ellen pulled through. She spent months in the hospital and celebrated multiple birthdays in a rehabilitation facility but she survived.
Doctors didn't hold out much promise for Ellen but she defied the odds. They warned her family not to get their hopes up. Ellen would never walk again and might never talk. At least that's what they thought. But Ellen proved them wrong. She didn't let defeat stomp on her determination to begin again and start over. Ellen refused to be defeated by pessimism. She didn't give into pain and suffering. She persevered and she did it with a smile.
Today Ellen walks and talks. She enjoys friendships and grabbing an afternoon latte at the local coffee shop. With the help of a walker her paralysis-afflicted left side is kept upright while she browses store isles and makes her way down sidewalks. And she does it all wearing a smile.
For years I have watched Ellen come into the coffee shop and order her favorite green tea latte and for years I have marveled at her courage and contentment. She has an unspeakable peace that I would have missed entirely if it weren't for the cumbersome walker she pushes. I would never have recognized the joy on her face if it weren't for the paralysis of her body. It is because of her struggle that I have been blessed to see the spirit in her smile - the spirit of sacred suffering.
A smile is easy to wear when there is no pain and suffering. There is no need for a supernatural indwelling to wear a happy face when life is trouble-free and the body can move with ease. But when the going gets tough, life takes a dramatic turn toward tribulation, that's when a smile is more than a facial expression. It is a expression of the heart and soul. A struggling smile is a sacred expression of the spirit's trust and assurance in Christ.

Every afternoon I look forward to looking out the window so I can see Ellen and her smile. She is my daily reminder to wear a smile on my face and, more importantly, a smile in my heart. Whether my life be overcome by struggles, suffering or pain, Ellen reminds me that I can smile from the very core of my soul because it comes from Christ and His indwelling. It is by the power of my suffering Savior that I can claim a life of joy, peace and unshakable faith that radiates in a sacred smile.