Buy a Pack of Toilet Paper and Dump a Bucket of Iced Water on Your Head

Turn on the news or open social media and in a few seconds you'll be so discouraged you won't know what to do. Suicide rates are at an all-time high and "peaceful" protests are leaving people dead in the streets. Even the very ones who are supposed to be protecting us have become innocent targets. I don't want to live in a world full of hate and fear, but apparently I do. It seems the whole world has gone nuts.

Speaking of nuts, let me tell you a funny story with an amazing ending. It all started with a friendly competition between two adult Sunday School classes. None of the details are important, except to know we were collecting items for local food banks and shelters in our area. The competition was fierce. Three classmates from the winning class would dump a bucket of iced water on the teacher and two students from the losing class. And so for over a week, both of the classes went crazy buying items for those in need.

I have to admit, the friendly smack talk between the classes was a refreshing break from the nightly news and a great distraction from the madness of the world. Comments like, "Wednesday we go to battle" really meant, "I sure do hope we collect a ton of stuff for the local shelters." Finally the big night arrived and an official judge counted the items and announced the winner. The competition took an unexpected twist at the end, and things didn't go exactly as I planned!

But things did go exactly as God planned. While I was thawing out and laughing at all the fun we had, God was preparing to teach me a lesson. One of the shelters where the goods were delivered was down to their very last pack of toilet paper. I don't know how that strikes you, but it pulls my heart strings. I can't imagine being a mama on the run, trying to protect my children, and not being able to provide them with toilet paper. Toilet paper seems like such a small thing, and I guess it isn't news worthy.  But I can't help but wonder what our world would be like if the news was filled with stories about human beings loving and helping one another, instead of all the horrific stories they choose to share.

News channels usually don't choose to air good news, so it's our responsibility to take up their slack. The bible says in 1 John 1:5-7, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the       darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."  We live in a dark world, and it gets darker by the day. If we are not careful, the darkness will surround us. Now, more than ever, we need to be the light for others around us.  Look for those who need help and strive to be a blessing to someone. If that means getting three buckets of iced water dumped on your head, so be it, because at the end of the day, we are all winners if we put our faith in God and love one another deeply.

Relationship Goals

People watching.  It's what you do on the beach. To the right we have The Screamers. Every so often one of them has a fit and just goes off the deep end yelling.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging them.  They had nine fairly small children with them.  It's not easy keeping small children safe and happy at the beach. I guess sometimes we all just lose it! Also to the right we have Mr Ugly Pants.  He's being rude to everyone around him. Maybe he's just having a bad day. To the left we have the Photogenic Family. They are happy enough,  and capturing every single moment on camera.

I am certain the people around us are judging our family as well. I don't know what they are saying,  and I don't really care. We are happy and enjoying ourselves.  But none of us can help but notice the old couple sitting by the water's edge. They must be near 90 and everyone around is pointing and smiling.  They sit side by side, staring offshore, gazing into the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. We can't hear what they're saying,  but you can tell by their body language they are very content.

As the day draws to a close and it's time to leave, they gather up their chairs and put them in a white cart with very huge, orange tires. Then they turn, both grab hold of the handle, and begin making the trek up the sand dune. Halfway up, they stop and rest together before lugging their stuff the rest of the way up the dune. I don't know how far they had to travel, but it didn't matter,  because they were taking the journey together.

I know I am blessed to have Troy as my husband. I know over the years, we have been like all the people we've seen on the beach this week. Sometimes we yell and are rude, and sometimes we're happy and take pictures.  Regardless, we are in this adventure together for life. When we are old, I know we will sit by the sea and talk about how great life has been and how much we love our kids and our family. And then when we're tired, we will help each other drag our junk up the sand dune and go home. Because at the end of the day, there's no where else I'd rather be.

Flipper

This morning we had the joy of observing bottlenose dolphins frolic in the Atlantic Ocean. These graceful creatures break the surface of the water in a gliding motion, and then dive back down again, totally disappearing in the ocean's abyss. Every once in a while, their whole body erupts from the ocean before disappearing again.

 Dolphins are very social creatures. They travel in pods anywhere from four to 40. They communicate underwater by making sounds,  but also by slapping their tails on top of the water.  I know all this thanks to my good friend Google, and from my experience of growing up on the water in Mathews, Va. What I would love to know, which Google can't tell me, is what they were saying to each other with the tail slap.

Human slaps often mean anger, but these dolphins were rambunctious and playful.  They would leap out of the water, and just before they dove in again,  they would slap their tail flat on the water's surface. The thud could be heard from the shoreline,  and water would shoot up and cascade down again. It was almost as if they were beckoning onlookers,  "Come play with us! The water is crisp and we're having a great day!"

It never really occurred to me to add "watch dolphins slap the water with their tails" to my bucket list,  but thankfully God thought it would be a good one for today, so He added it for me. I've seen dolphins millions of times, but the joy they bring never gets old. The smell of salt air, the sound of crashing waves, the feel of sand between the toes, the peaceful wind,  and the blazing sun makes Nags Head, NC a wonder. Though it didn't make one of the top seven natural wonders of the world,  it should have. Great job, God, in creating this small slice of heaven!

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1:21