How much humility can one servant handle?...

I think I have received an ultimate new teaching from the Lord on how to be truly humble, painfully humble is possibly a better explanation. Follow along and learn with me...

I’m going to share my latest adventures in my ever-growing opportunities to embrace humility on all levels, levels I didn't even know could exist and I'm sure more levels that will reveal themselves in the future. I’m going to preface this entry with a warning, some content is “inappropriate” and it just so happens that it is what it is so I share it candidly and openly.

Where shall I start, well I guess I’ll go way back to the beginning to make this story nice & long like I seem to do so well in rambling fashion.

Since fully coming to a place in my faith where I just straight-up want to chase Jesus around like Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny trying to capture and hold onto Him, I have struggled with a few “past times” that I no longer see with the same eyes nor the same worldly interest, yet feel the dire value in celebrating with those whom I love in any way they deeply desire.

Subject at hand was to plan a bachelorette party for one of my dearest friends. Those of you who know me well, know I have skills in the computer department to do much damage in vast variety of embarrassment to any degree I wish~ PG to Rated R for any celebration at hand; birthdays-to-bachelorettes. I have been, in the past called upon to “thrive” in this area of total embarrassment and inappropriate bachelorette related shenanigans therefore have gained a reputation as to be the “go-to-girl” for such personalized needs in my circle of friends. As the years have passed and the “wedding decade” of my generation is drawing closer to a lull I have not had to cross the bridge of Jesus’ approval and Bachelorette naughtiness and please both crowds, until now.

As this party drew closer I waited patiently for a good idea to fit everyone’s desires (mostly the Lord’s). I did not want to compromise my morals to exploit raunchiness that accompanies the reputation of “bachelorette parties” of the past or simply in general. The Lord truly helped me meet the need. I had come across a perfect idea to celebrate my special friend in uniqueness, personality, special interests with as much individualized attention and pizazz as I have for all past parties I’ve been handed the pleasure of “sabotaging” with my hair-brained ideas & themes. I had fun preparing this ‘Desperate Housewife-to-be’ themed party in honor of my friend’s addiction to the drama on ABC, where all I needed to plan & decorate was the color red and an apple icon. It was good, clean, fun (this time).

Fast forward this incredibly long introduction; the party came to fruition this past weekend. Beyond my control are the items that other’s were going to bring to share with all of us at the party. With this “luck” I gained the pleasure of biting my tongue to accept the ‘dis’-honor of wearing an inappropriately cartooned version of certain male anatomy around as a name-tag on my dress. It didn’t bother me too much as it was discreetly hidden under my jacket so I went with the “bachelorette” flow of things. What does all this have to do with being “humble”…hang on ~ we’re getting there and surely you’re going to see it all come full circle soon.

Since these festivities took place in Stillwater, we all spent the night in a hotel room Saturday night. Sunday morning as I woke for my long drive home, I was in my car, racing home to my sick baby who I had dearly worried over and severely missed nurturing for the day I was absent from 'mom duty'. As I was driving I realized I needed to get gas relatively SOON. I seen an upcoming BP sign over top the trees calling my name. I pulled off the freeway and behind the shrubbery revealed an abandoned building where a BP once thrived. Ugh, I thought, but I was more intrigued by the greeting of three strategically placed fold-out, portable signs that said “Bethlehem church” with a big arrow that now found their home in the BP parking lot. My heart fluttered a bit and immediately I thought “hmmmm, I totally have a church out-fit packed in my bag” as I was still wearing my windpants & t-shirt PJ’s for the drive home. I decided on a whim to quickly stop at the next gas station fill-up & change then come back to this church that seemed to for "no-apparent-reason or connection" make my heart leap and capture my attention with much interest. By the time I achieved this goal of changing my attire and finding my dress-coat, I walked into the front of this Bethlehem church to realize I was 30 minutes late to the service so I quickly turned around in their entry-way thinking it might be non-sense for me to slip into this church SO late. I went back to my car to continue my drive home but the nagging sensation to "go to church” would not go away. I then remembered a church nearby that I had attended a conference at and decided to go check them out. I realized I was too late for their mass as well but about 40 minutes early for their second service. I called to check on my sickly child once again and heard a good report of him being on the mend so I asked my loving husband if he would mind if I be a bit later than planned so I may attend this church. He agreed and so it was settled in my heart that I would wait for second services to start.

I went in early to this 2nd church, Northern Heights, once I seen the congregation leaving and knew their first service was over. Thought I’d take the chance to mosey around and acquaint myself with their facilities and publications, ect. Finally I entered into their sanctuary to wait for the service to begin and as it did I could not get the nagging feeling of the Bethlehem church out of my mind as if I was “missing something” that might be taking place there. So I followed my gut to “go back” as I was certain their 2nd service would be just beginning. I “snuck” out of the service at Northern Heights as quietly as I could. I arrived fashionably late back at the first church and waltzed into the sanctuary to find a seat. I chose a seat relatively close to the front which was not my plan! As a “stranger” in this church I just wanted to sit quietly in the back ~ but the back was full. Add being 'late' to the plate and I certainly did not want to draw attention to myself by sitting way up in the 10th row of a 30 row+ deep church, but that's where my seat was found none-the-less. I feel the need to just add the random fact that both of these churches were HUGE in size ~ just an FYI ~ so it required much wandering for me to find my way around and I did so at my leisure, crossing paths with many, many people along the way, the revelation and importance of this will be found later in the story.

I sat through service at this church with peace on my heart that I was in the right place, hearing the right message and then I left to come home with a content heart. After my long drive home I came eager to switch back into my PJ’s and be comfortable. Once I reached my bedroom and took off my dress-coat to hang it up my eyes beheld the most terrifying sight I could have possibly ever dreamed to be my living nightmare:

The afore mentioned “derogatory name-tag sticker” had some how made it’s way from one of my friend’s possession’s onto the BACK OF MY COAT, for I had made certain my own sticker made it's way safely to the garbage can immediately after it's need expired, but another seemed to find it's home ON MY BACK! (in plain VIEW)

This, my blog friends, is a huge laugh for you all at my expense if you just take the moment to think about what I truly shared with you! Mostly enjoyable of course is my husband's funny bone as he can barely gain his composure while his sides ache in laughter at the horrid irony of me running around to and fro not ONE but TWO of God's humongous churches with this thing plastered right on my back for all the world to see in all the inappropriateness imaginable!!!!!!! I have to believe the Lord himself must have had quite a chuckle too Sunday morning! What a lesson in humility I learned this weekend. The humility was in “the flesh” but the message has truly penetrated my pride on a spiritual level to the point I am living for quite some time in the 2" tall category.

I hope you all enjoy, because in all honesty it was too good not to share ~ another ~ only Maria type adventure ~ even if it did almost cause me to nearly DIE right on the spot! I am 10 shades of agonizingly deep red in color simply as I write this all for you to giggle over!