Drive By Devotion #13 Jesus Don't Need No GPS!

Dodging the traffic and creeping along a busy

interstate with all kinds of construction going on, 

sent my GPS into a tizz.

Me too, for that matter!

The New Whine

I started walking in my fresh-out-of-the-box New Balance running shoes yesterday and realized, "It'll never work with these old socks."

Now the socks, mind you, aren't ALL that old. It's just that they've lost their elasticity and have a hole here and there, or something. As I briskly walk, the socks work their way down to the middle of my foot. Very comfy. (Yeah right..) Talk about irritating? It takes the total joy out of walking in new shoes. With every step, I complain and whine about the stupid socks.

It's very similar to the scriptures that say, "No one pours new wine in old wine skins".  No matter how up-to-date the methodology, technology or advancement of anything - you're still only as good as your least progressive tool. Today it's my socks that are holding me back...a little whine with the wine. This should be the 'new balance' - new wine? New skins. Period.

Tomorrow, it'll probably be my knees, but we'll leave that for another post... What's your new whine?

My Atheist Friend Returns...

Joyce, an atheist and acquaintance but repeat attender to one of my recent LOL events, came to say,
"Hi Sue. I'm back!"
I responded, "Hi Joyce! I'm so glad you're back!"
"Well, you know I'm still not into all this God-talk, but I come because I like to laugh..", she said.
"I was looking for you this year and I was thrilled to see you again", I said.
Joyce smiled big. The pastor's wife, Carol, has consistently invited her for these special women's events, and she comes....simply because she's personally invited.

It's not up to me to be God. I just let God use me. Her smile indicated to me that her disbelief in God has nothing to do with the connection that we as God-people should pass along to our God-less world.

"You made me cry tonight, Sue. That's a first for me in a church..", Joyce whispered.
"Joyce, you're making me cry right NOW and that's NOT a first for me in a church. I find it to be a real and wonderful signal, that I've been greatly touched by something bigger than I."

I then hugged her and told her I'm praying for her.
She said, "Well, I can't tell you not to pray for me, that's for sure. But thanks for the hug."

She came back. She smiled. We hugged. This is what we do.

Drive By Devotion #12 "I Got The Music In Me"

Remember the character Andy Dufresne from the film 

Shawshank Redemption?

You need to know...his character understood a very important truth.

He had the music in him...

Drive By Devotion #11 "Techno-Babble"

The wonderful world of technology and a possible positive outlook

on texting and the new stuff...

can be so much MORE than just a distraction... :)

A Little Pillow Talk LOL

When you want to know how my mind works.....

Levity is everything.....

LOL

Drive By Devotion #10 "Humdinger to Psalm Singer"

It really works for me. Can't memorize anything worth squat, 

but put it to music? - and it never leaves me.

I challenge you to "write" your own

scripture songs... Put God's word to fun melodies of your own.

Super fun and very effective. 

Behind Her Back

Receiving an unsolicited call from a desperate husband asking if my womens' events are appropriate for his wife to attend and what topics I would be addressing, caught me way off guard. (What?) I honestly had to ask him to repeat what he said because, well, I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. 


"Sorry sir, can you repeat that?"
"I'm calling because my wife is planning to attend one of your conferences and I just want to be sure it's appropriate for her and if the topics your are speaking on, will be relevant and biblically sound for her. You know how you women are..." (stated in a harsh tone)


I try really hard not be defensive in anything in life and it takes a lot for me to get to that place, but I responded quickly and firmly. (especially after he said, "you know how YOU women are...")


"I'm positive, sir, that your wife will receive much and be blessed by the conference. Is your wife with you right now while you've taken the time to call me?"
(long pause and silence)
"Well, no not really. She's at work now."
"Does she know you're calling me? Did you tell her you would be calling me on this, sir?"
".......No. I don't want her to know. It's very complicated."
"Then, sir, with all due respect, I can't speak to you. You see, this conversation isn't appropriate for me to attend to. Seems a bit strange for a man to call a woman he doesn't know without his wife's approval. And speaking of "appropriate and biblical", how does the fact that you called me - fit into that thinking?"
(silence again)
"I see what you're saying, ma'am..."


Every once in a while, I'm reminded of the neanderthal mindset that still exists in the heart of a controlling over-bearing bible-thumping husband. When I turned his conversation around, using his own words, he grew deafly silent. 


I'm praying today for his wife. I'm sure this isn't a first for her. I also pray she comes to the event. I pray she has the courage to overcome what I'm sure has been a difficult dominating journey. 


I always pray for women attending any conference, retreat or event I speak for. But I also have included praying for the spouse at home too. "God, give them the assurance and presence of mind to love their wives enough that they give them an embracing send-off."


My thoughts today:

• Husbands, love your wives. Be their covering, not their containment.
• Wives, love your husbands. Really really do this. 
• A women's conference should never cause a division between a husband and a wife; it should be an oasis getaway, empowering you MORE to be the best you can be in all relational aspects.
• The first excuse or demand someone gives you is rarely the heart of the real issue. There's something brewing under the surface.

I know there's a whole lot more going on with this man. Pray for him. And being the humorist that I am, I find no humor in any of this...

Drive By Devotion #9 with Sue Duffield "Gather What?"

This "gather" word has me laughing today. You'll see why! Shall we gather? I think we should.

The 70s Sensibility Show!

Don and Candy's promo picture/poster was becoming a dust collector on top of the old Montgomery Ward refrigerator. When I pulled it down, I blew off the dust, coughed and laughed. Two 70s-style iconic characters, adorning frizzy perms, tinted aviator glasses - Don in an avocado green leisure suit and Candy in a pink paisley peasant dress. They were standing (in the photo) in front of a fireplace holding Shure 58 microphones in a Hollywood pose. Inscribed under the picture:

Coming to a town near you!

Don and Candy don't really exist. At least I don't think they do...

It was nothing more than a colorfully explicit dream...a very graphic one indeed, so much so that I did a real time sneeze!

So, who are Don and Candy? 
And why are they stuck in the 70s? 
And where did this dream come from?

I'll take a shot here and do some of my own interpreting.
LOVE the 70s.
LOVE the impact that era had on my forming of music, style and reference. But I also know I can't hold on to the total 70s philosophy anymore. Here's why:

• If Richard Nixon apologized, the world would be different.
• It takes more than a game of interlocking primates (Barrel of Monkeys) to test my patience.
• My mood ring used to be a test of my disposition. My Facebook status and twitter updates tell all now.
• Apple Jacks, famous for it's non-apple taste, takes a back seat to my yummy gluten-free rice cereal. 
• I miss my "One Way" Living Bible but thankful for the Bible App on my iPhone.
• Jaws reminds me more of those dental sponge props (that keep your mouth wide open) than a shark.
• My ride of choice is a 2011 Ford Flex where once I cruised in a '73 Plymouth Gold Duster.

Duster. Dust! That's it! Now the dream sequence makes sense! I saw a restored Plymouth Gold Duster the other day and it obviously got my brain groovin', kickin' off the dust. Can you dig it? Far out.

An ABC After School Special couldn't impose more of an interruption to the blogging community here. "C'mon! Get back to your regular programming, Sue! I'm not in the mood for trivial stuff."

Okay. The mood ring is off. I'll take that into consideration on the next post. (Yo mama!....... Keep on truckin'....)

Jeremiah 2: 1-3 (paraphrase)
..You stayed with me through the wilderness years, stuck with me through all the hard places.

MiMi, FeFe, and Lord Lord!

Drive By Devotion #8

From an endearing way of calling one

by cute-cy names

to understanding the power that scripture gets our attention

when we say "Lord Lord"...

Somehow, it makes a lot of sense.

Yeah Yeah

Ya-Ya.

The Broken Piano Speaks

Oh, the symphonies, the melodies, the joyful stanzas of creative euphonious harmonies! Don't you hear them? Can't you just feel the rhythmic sweet-sounding tunes rising up like a Sunday morning in your soul?

Sometimes I can. Not today though..

Alas! The serious Psalm-writer knows: It doesn't come easy. The lament beats louder in your head as it always does, like an abandoned building with a broken down piano. The cacophonous quiet is eerily deafening.

Once what was orchestral and agreeable becomes dissonant and unmusical.

I'd like to sit at your bench, but it's in pieces on the floor. 

I'd like to play your keyboard, but there's no ivory anymore. 

The strings are stripped 

and stretched beyond repair

Where once I wrote a symphony

My heartstrings write despair...

(The Psalm-writer nudges) 

"Sit right down, my sister. 

Sit down with Me on the floor. 

I was stripped and stretched beyond repair

For you - many years before.

Quit searching for a sonnet, or a chorus of release

Be the voice of one awakened to

The joy of the Master-peace."

©2012 Sue Duffield/DuffieldMusicGroup

Where is the discord in your life today? Who is it you're listening to? Who are you writing for? What has silenced you?

(Drawing 2 Conclusions) "What's a Metroid?"

• It you take ten birds, put them in a box and add six marshmallows, how many hats are blue?
• What's the difference between dark soil and a smooth magnet?
• Does toilet paper and bottled water bring a man to tears?
• How many dogs does it take to fill the distance between two business cards?

These questions, as ridiculous as they sound, are a fun poke at how the disconnect between two people can surmount. Sometimes we're asking the wrong questions. 

I learned this from my kids. Children, no matter how old they become, can teach you a lot about how you frame your questions in conversation... or even how you draw, for that matter...

Annie and I have been playing this crazy iPhone App game called DrawSomething. It's a modernized re-mix of an Etch-A-Sketch, somewhat. The other day I drew a man with a red helmet, hoping that Annie would guess that it was the character from Metroid. 

OK. "What is Metroid?", I said to myself first. {Oh, that's right - with a press of a finger, I can find out what a Metroid is on Google!} Google told me it's a series of science fiction action-adventure video games by Nintendo. 

I'm a very cool mom. "Annie will surely know this...", I said to myself.

Bamp. Wrong. First (1) of all, my drawing was gravely marginal to say the least. Plus I thought for sure she would guess it since DrawSomething gives all the letters, and extra ones you don't need, as you see above. Right? Nope. And secondly (2) the best part was I didn't even remember what the heck I drew!

Here's our texts, to make it even MORE funny:

It's nice to know that the humor bone has been passed down to my offspring. She makes me laugh.

I am proud. I will continue to draw and be really bad at it. And Annie will keep me in line.

That seems to be her job. :)

Drive By Devotion #7 Simple Trust

A little faith? A little girl. A big trust. A big girl. Now.

My hope for life as it takes

the 

next 

step.

Simple trust.

1 Corinthians 12: 7-9

Easter Sunday Resurrects Many Things

• Reminds me of my mother's colorful bouffant hats, bigger than she ever was.
• I close my eyes now and see my Great Grammy Allen and my family at the table at Peach Blo Manor Restaurant in Sewell, NJ. She'd pay for the whole bill - $20. 
• A sometimes Sunday afternoon trip to Cape May
• Hollowed chocolate eggs with jelly beans and Hershey Kisses inside.
• Yellow Peeps that would go stale and I was glad!
• My son David's first Easter basket. Just two years old he said, (and I have this on video) "Thanks mommy - you did a fine job."
• My daughter Annie's pronouncement (at two years also) that she wanted pitty jesses for Easter. (pretty dresses)
• Weber's Candy Store in Bridgeton. The famed one pound chocolate peanut butter egg that everyone would fight over. No one would confess who ate it all. Weber's is no longer in business.
• Never quite able to get the egg coloring and dying process just right..
• Jeff and I would raid the kids baskets after they'd go to bed.
• The must-have-flower-for-me: Hyacinth
• The Easter Musicals. The Dramas. The time when Jesus' triumphal entry down the church aisle went totally sour when the donkey started out too soon, sat down, then refused to move!
• Our cat, for some reason, loved eating the fake green grass in the Easter basket. 
• I never tire of hearing Annie Herring's song, "The Easter Song"
• The photo shoot that seemed eternal, standing outside in our Easter outfits, capturing what would one day be memories and refections of a simpler time. We all wore hats. It was 1967. My mother's hat.......to this day......I laugh out loud. My brother Dave - dapper as always. Me? I was at the age where I was probably saying under my breath, "These stupid Easter bonnets are blocking the view of this great looking car!"

Jesus is resurrected and alive. There's no doubt. Along with the celebration and resurrection of HIS life and HIS role IN my life, comes everything else. As it should.