We have... a Heart Condition

Do you know what really grinds my gears? 

The inaccuracy of the hand grip heart rate monitor things on the handles of treadmills. Are they EVER accurate? 

Ok, maybe I should slow down a little bit. I am really not THAT upset about it, but it just makes me think sometimes. Perhaps you can help. Maybe I am not gripping them right? Whenever I work out on a treadmill (or elliptical, bike, anything with the fancy-schmancy heart rate grippy things) it never, ever seems to be even close to accurate. 

It usually takes the majority of my workout to get a close to legit reading. I spend all that time trying to adjust my hands so it will show that I actually HAVE a pulse, and when it does, it gives some astronomical number on the verge of heart explosion. (I work hard, but not THAT hard. Seriously.)  Oh, and don't get me started on how I feel when it occasionally blinks judgmental messages of "Do not run while gripping handles." (Well if you would read my heart rate while I am walking/recovery, I wouldn't have to, you stinkin temperamental machine...) 

Here's the great news about that story. God is OUR heart monitor. And a very accurate one at that. He knows our heart. It's important to understand that regardless of what physical shape we are in, we ALL have a heart condition. 

That is symptom #4 of being a human. We have a heart condition. As much as we would like to deny it or argue, we have sin in our heart. While I would love to blame Adam and Eve for messing it up, let's be honest... If it wasn't them, it would have taken 13.43 seconds before someone else came along who would have thought the snake's ideas were great and screwed it all up. Oh, the "joys" of being a human. 

Our sins give us a heart condition. But God is constantly "monitoring" our heart, much more effectively and accurately than the treadmill example. He knows everything in there and we don't need surgery to clear the "blockages" (aka sin.) Why? Because we have Jesus!! (More on THAT tomorrow) 

If you haven't done so already and feel called, stop right now and ask Jesus into your heart. If you have already experienced that, then go ahead and ask Christ to continue clearing out the "junk." He will condition your heart. He will strengthen it. He will be your accurate, never-ending tool to monitor your "heart condition." 

Next time you are on the treadmill and you begin to argue with the heart rate grippy things, remember... Jesus has got your pulse. And He IS the cure for our heart condition!

Lub-dubbing along, 

SGK 

"As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man." Proverbs 27:19

Yard Sale Toys

While I don't have any little children of my own yet, I like to babysit other drill sergeant wives' on occasion. This has worked out pretty well for the last few months since I have been in Georgia, but I began to realize that these little ones were getting bored when they came over to our place, primarily because we didn't have any toys. And let's be honest, you can only watch Tangled so many times.

I am not a yard-saler. But, for the sake of my sanity, the children I babysit and my adult personal household goods that were quickly becoming makeshift "toys," I ventured out, husband in hand, to tackle Fort Benning's post-wide yardsale last Saturday. Our mission: attain legit, economical toys... That if they were destroyed, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

It turns out that the awesome loot I brought home was certainly that-- awesome. I was unhumbly proud of myself. JACKPOT! The great part is, I got to try out my new toys on a pair of beautiful little girls on Monday. Even better, those toys, since they weren't expensive, were made to be broken. Between these little girls and my puppy (who had never experienced kid toys before) we accomplished that goal. I was totally ok with it and counted the few broken toys as a success.

Now, I didn't buy the toys specifically to be broken or chewed up (by two-year-olds or puppies), but I certainly didn't panic when I realized one of the small dolls is now missing feet. It actually kind of made me laugh to think about how hard I had search for toys to make sure they weren't broken when I purchased them at the yard sale... but in the end, it really didn't matter.

God doesn't "buy" things like I did at the yard sale... Jesus purchased us broken to start with in hope of paying a HUGE price (his life) to put us back together. How awesome is that?!? That is a remarkable kind of love right there.  "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." Acts 20:28

Let me say it again: God paid an incredibly high price via the life of His SON. For what? For broken, sinful folks like me and you. It says in 1 Corinthians 7:23 "You were bought at a price."  God's love for us is much unlike my digging through bins, sorting through tables looking for "whole" items at a cheap, cheap price.

This whole experience made me realize three things:
1) Don't buy cheap toys with the intent of them lasting long enough to meet grandchildren if you have yet to procreate.
2) God loves us more than we can ever comprehend.
3) God isn't a dude upstairs searching for perfect cheap yard sale toys. He loves that we are broken and desires to put us back together, no matter what it costs.

Take some time today to thank Him for loving us as the broken yard sale toys that we are: marked up, ripped clothes, missing appendages, victims of an impromptu haircut that leaves us looking less than desirable due to our sin.  Remember that he thinks we are beautiful and has literally paid it all for us.

Bought, Paid for, no refunds,
SGK

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." --John 3:16