I Hate Teeth

I hate teeth.  Really, I do.  Especially mine.


You see, I don't have very good teeth.  Last year I had the pleasure of having a root canal to save a tooth.  It was actually pretty painless.  I was surprised.  But anyway, I had a temporary crown put on at that time with the instructions to come back for the permanent crown.  Oh, and don't forget your check for the permanent crown when you come.


So, needless to say, I didn't go back due to our lack of money.


At Christmas, I was eating a yummy, gooey cinnamon roll and suddenly felt something in my mouth that shouldn't have been there.  Come to find out, it was my temporary crown.  Oh, boy!  It felt awful in my mouth but didn't actually hurt, so I chose to ignore it as we still didn't have extra money for dental work.


Then, in March, I chomped down hard on some food item and saw stars.  The next day, my jaw was swollen and tender, but I couldn't see anything in my mouth that looked broken.  So, once again, being the avoider that I am, I just tried to ignore it.


The week before Holy Week of this year, it started to really act up. I couldn't bite down hard on anything and had to cut my food up really small.  I knew the time had come to see the dentist.  


So I prayed to God that He would let my tooth stay together until after Easter and Confirmation.  You see, I cantor and sing in the choir at our church and we were scheduled to sing throughout Holy Week, including Easter Vigil, Easter morning and Confirmation on Monday.  I was afraid I would have to have my tooth pulled and that I wouldn't be able to sing for all those events.  And God was so good.  He did let me sing and worship Him without pain.


But now, I have an appointment tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.  Of course, they wanted me to have my teeth cleaned first, but I had to tell them that would be much too painful.  Could they please do something for my tooth first?  And she said, yes, X rays.  And wouldn't you know this week studies came out that state that people who have dental x-rays are at a way higher risk of brain cancer?  Great.  More worries.


So I plan to bravely march off to the dentist tomorrow (check in hand) to find out the fate of my teeth.  Please pray for me as going to the dentist is at the top of my list for places I hate to go. (or is it my ob-gyn visits).  Anyway, I will let you all know what happens after my appointment.  And please, don't forget your prayers!

Unfinished Projects

My life is an unfinished project.


Or, more accurately, I am overwhelmed with unfinished projects.


Everywhere I look, I see something else that needs to be completed.  For example, in my home, half of the interior doors are only primed, and they have been that way for five years.  Our new (five years old) set of stairs to the upper level?  Well, they are still bare wood.  There is no stain or finish.

Our deck outside the house has no railings.


Inside, there is missing baseboard, missing trim, missing paint, etc.  From where I sit, I can see numerous unfinished projects.  And if I open my kitchen cabinets, I can find many old, worn-out "to do" lists of household projects, with nary a single item checked off as finished.


I don't even want to think about my unfinished craft/sewing projects.  Oh, and I mustn't forget those half completed cross stitch, needlepoint and crewel kits.


As for my life being an unfinished project, well, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.


Perhaps I need to make a real effort to finished at least something.  Maybe I'll rip down all my old lists and start afresh.  I'll choose one glaring, unfinished project that doesn't cost much to do and get started.  That way I could actually feel good about getting something done.


I'll let you know what I decide to finished first.  Stay tuned!

Good Friday

It's Good Friday, the saddest, most somber day of the Christian calendar.  We must all endure this retelling of Jesus' suffering in order to even try to realize the glorious gift that is ours on Easter morning.


It was our infirmities he bore,/our sufferings that he endured,/while we thought of him as stricken,/as one smitten by God and afflicted./But he was pierced for our offenses,/crushed for our sins;/upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,/by his stripes we were healed./We had all gone astray like sheep,/each following his own way;/but the Lord laid upon him/the guilt of us all. (Isaiah 52)


This passage is as true today as it was in Isaiah's time.  We have all gone astray.  Like sheep, we follow so many things other than Jesus.  And we forget so easily the sacrifice He made for us.  That is why, at the very least, we should meditate on His pain and suffering on this day, Good Friday.


Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted Him
and bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name.  (Phillippians 2:8-9)


Obedience.  A word most people ignore these days.  Shouldn't we try to employ some obedience into our daily lives?  Obedience and humility go hand in hand.  Putting others' needs before our own--isn't that what Christ did?  He thought of all of us, putting aside the thought of all the pain He would endure.  Our needs were above His needs.  Wouldn't life here on earth be so much better if everyone would think of others before themselves and would be obedient to the will of God?


Behold your king!


"Take him away, take him away!  Crucify him!"


Every time we choose to sin in this life, we are screaming "Crucify him!"  We are helping to pound the nails into Jesus' hands and feet. We are turning our backs on Jesus' pain, suffering and humiliation.


It is finished.


It is done.  The ultimate sacrifice had been made.  And we are so undeserving, so selfish, so sinful.  That is what makes Christ's sacrifice the ultimate gift to us.  


So please, today, take some time to be there at the foot of the cross where Jesus suffered so.  Look up at His beautiful pain-filled face, and repent and suffer along with Him, if even just on this Good Friday.  Because Easter Sunday means nothing if we can't share some of the pain of Good Friday.


May God bless you and bring you closer to Him on this sad and mournful day in anticipation of the glory of Easter Sunday.