Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Just Say "Yes."

God has called us to live large, not small insignificant lives. When I think of how often we say “No” to most things, especially if it is something new that we’ve never tried before, it’s really sad. We create our own small lives. We stay in our nice, comfy zone where we control everything, never allowing ourselves to grow or to widen our horizons and opportunities. God never intended a small life for any of us. 
I can remember saying “Yes” to going on a missions trip to Russia. I was terrified and nervous. It was something I had never done before. I had barely even traveled outside the U.S. before that time. Suddenly, I was on a plane and flying to Moscow. The experience was life changing and it opened my eyes to just how big God really is. It showed me that He not only loved me, but a whole other culture I had never known. I made great friends from that trip, both Americans and Russian. I fell in love with the Russian orphans we went over to help. They were beautiful and had the same aspirations as the children right in my own neighborhood. They just had unfortunate and sad circumstances. But God used us to bring them hope beyond their circumstances and to show them how much He loved them. All of this just from saying, “Yes” to something new and different. 
Another time I said “Yes” was to writing. I decided to take a chance on writing some books with stories that are dear to my heart. I wasn’t even sure if I could write or if my stories would be any good, but saying “Yes” has opened up doors I never dreamed of walking through. As a result, I am traveling and speaking and meeting new people who have been impacted by the words and stories God has given me. If I had said “No” I would have been safe and sound back home, just dreaming of doing something new. 
God didn’t shove me out there on my own. He asked me to trust Him to go with me, but He did ask me to take the first step. When I did, He stepped right along side of me. I learned to trust God on a whole different level. Too often we stand frozen, afraid to take the first step into a new experience. This is where you learn to trust Him beyond your own understanding. You can’t do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. When you step out, your faith is activated.
Recently I said “Yes” to another missions trip. We went with a team to Kampala, Uganda in Africa. We visited babies who had lost their parents to the Aids disease and we met mothers who had been abandoned and left to die on their own. We worked with Watoto Child Care Ministries while we were there and actually physically helped to build a new home in which four families would live. My life was enlarged and enriched all over again. I will never be the same since that experience. My God is so big and has a heart for the whole world, not just my small little world.
I’m not saying you have to write books or take missions trips around the world. I’m sure your world is busy enough. But perhaps you could say “Yes” to some new things instead of just being busy all the time. God always wants to do a “new thing” in our lives and He will if we only say “Yes.” Trust Him to go with you and help you with your new experience. I promise you will see God in a whole different light. He has a plan for each of our lives, but sometimes we just say “No” to things that could open up a whole new avenue of experiences. We just want to stay where we are comfortable and cozy. 
Let God do a new thing in your life soon. Say “Yes” to a new experience and watch the doors of opportunity and experience fly open for you. Don’t worry. God will go with you every step of the way. Your trust in His ability and His character will only grow stronger. Your impact on the world around you will be greater than you thought possible.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Dream

I dreamed a dream not too long ago.
My brain made it up. Why I do not know.
It was while the house was very quiet and still,
My brain started working, showing me reel after reel.
A strange and wild movie was playing in my head, 
About things that I like and things that I dread.
I was shopping for groceries wearing pajamas and slippers.
People pointed and stared, and some even snickered.
I bought lots of spinach, which I really despise.
But they were coated with chocolate, what a nice surprise.
I bought carrots and okra and Brussels Sprouts too.
But they had sprinkles of sugar that stuck just like glue.
There was Castor Oil, pills and even Milk of Magnesia, 
But with a flavor that tasted very much Polynesian.
From aisle to aisle I pulled things from the shelf. 
I got something for everyone, especially myself.
But when I wheeled my cart to the cashier named Kay,
My pajamas had no pockets and no money to pay.  
I looked to my left and I looked to my right, 
People were staring at my embarrassing sight. 
But out of the blue, right out of the night, 
A man beside me said, “That’s alright.”
He handed Kay money and then tipped his hat and bowed,
“I can’t let you do that,” I pleaded, it can’t be allowed.
“Oh, but I insist,” said the man.  “It brings me great pleasure.”
“For it’s where my heart is and there is my treasure.”
I scratched my head, I had nothing to say. 
I just stepped aside and let the gentleman pay.
After everything was bagged, I turned to say thanks.
But the man in the hat was so full of grace, 
He picked up my bags and without saying a thing,
Escorted me out to a stretch limousine, 
And with everyone watching, he opened the door
Then helped me inside where a drink had been poured,
“Enjoy your dream,” he said, smiling his best. 
“God can do anything – you can’t imagine or guess”.
In your wildest dreams you will find Him, the God of all Nations,
It was He after all who gave you imagination.
So sleep without worry, just close your weary eyes.
No need to panic, no alarm, no surprise
God gives you dreams to entertain you at night.
Even while you’re sleeping you are His delight. 

Copyright © 2008 by Polly D. Boyette, All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Do-It-Yourself Project

I’m one of those people who likes to see if I can fix something myself before I call on a professional to do it. Sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I’m not, but I give it my best shot before I give in and admit I’m in over my head. My friend, Jan, and I have done quite a few do-it-yourself projects in the past. It’s a wonder I’m still alive to tell about it. We came close to killing ourselves a couple of times.

Once I had brand new carpet installed in my living room. After the workers had gone I noticed my front door was hard to open and close. The bottom of the door needed to be trimmed down a bit, so I called Jan over and she brought over her very own power saw. We both agreed it seemed like an easy job. I didn’t even use a measuring tape to determine how much needed to be cut off the door. I just basically put my thumb down between the door and the carpet and eyeballed the thing. Then we took the door off its hinges and took it out on my front porch. We laid it across an old table and I held it while Jan operated the power saw. It was her saw so she was in charge of operating it. I wanted to have a go, but she insisted she was better skilled for using the saw and didn’t want to be held responsible for me cutting off a limb.

I held the door as best as I could, but it kept sliding around when she tried to saw the bottom off. It was then that she suggested I lie across the door to hold it still. Now this didn’t sound like such a good idea to me, but Jan assured me she knew what she was doing and she would be very careful. After giving the matter some thought, I decided it was the only way the job was going to get done and sacrificed myself by throwing my body across the door, holding on for dear life. 

Jan started up the power saw again and started cutting. Sparks were flying all around me, so I closed my eyes and prayed. After a few minutes I heard this weird noise like something had gone wrong. I happened to look up just in time to see the blade of the saw skid away from the bottom and up the face of the door toward me.

“Oops!” said Jan. “Sorry, it got away from me.”

 “What do you mean it got away from you?” I screamed, jumping off the door. “You could have cut me in half. I thought you said you know what you are doing.”

“I do, but this door is heavy and it takes a lot of pressure to cut through it. I just pushed too hard,” explained Jan.

Believe it or not I actually climbed back on the door while Jan continued cutting. I prayed even harder this time. I know God looks down from heaven sometimes and says, “Okay angels, I’m going to need a double shift today. Polly is trying to fix something herself.”

At last, after only a couple of hours, we managed to get the door trimmed and back on its hinges. It looked pretty good too, except for the big cut mark going up the front of the door. I painted it and you could hardly see it. We were so proud of our job.

Another time I was trying to remove a broken knob on my tub. I had already purchased a new knob and it seemed like a simple job. However, while trying to undo the screw that was holding the knob in place I accidentally stripped it clean so that you could not get it off no matter what. Suddenly I had a brilliant idea, as I so often do, and I grabbed my hammer from my tool box. It’s my noted opinion that you can repair almost anything with a good hammer. If it doesn’t work, give it a good whack with your hammer. I’ve had some luck with this in the past. I got in the tub and gently whacked the knob with my hammer, hoping to break it away from the screw. However, the knob didn’t break or budge. 

Robbie Lee was downstairs and she knows me well enough to know I was up to no good. “What’s going on up there?” she yelled.

“I’m trying to knock this knob off with my hammer,” I yelled back.

“Why don’t you just call Ron to fix it for you?” Robbie Lee yelled again.

“I can do this myself,” I yelled down with confidence. “There’s no need to bother Ron with this.” With that I gave it another harder whack this time, but nothing happened.

“You’d better just call Ron,” yelled Robbie Lee.

I didn’t answer this time. Instead I swung the hammer a bit harder, but the stubborn knob didn’t budge. I finally decided to throw my hammer back in the tool box and try something different later. As I turned on the water just to make sure everything was still working, I
noticed there was no hot water. There was hot water before I whacked it with the hammer.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’ve done it now.”

 “Why is it so quiet up there?” asked Robbie Lee. 

“Call Ron,” I yelled back. 

“Why?” asked Robbie Lee. “What did you do?” 

“Just call Ron, please,” I yelled back. “Just call him and ask him to come over as quickly as possible.” 

Of course, Ron came right over, but now the simple job had turned into a more complicated job because of my handy work. Apparently, when I whacked the knob with my hammer I broke the fragile little thing that controls the hot water. Fortunately, Ron is a professional and he knew what needed to be done. He was able to fix the problem that same day. I wished I had called him in the first place. I learned not everything can be fixed with the whack of a hammer. Sometimes you need a professional.

I don’t mind do-it-yourself projects, but it’s also wise to know when to turn the job over to someone else who knows what he or she is doing. I’ve spent hours fooling around with plumbing repairs, appliance repairs, and many other do-it-yourself projects, only to still have to call out a professional to finish the job. Usually I’ve done more damage by fooling with it myself and it ends up costing me more than it would have if I had just called the right folks in the first place.

It’s good to know we don’t have to do life alone. God is always right there. We may feel like we are alone sometimes, but He is always close by. Often we try to fix things that are broken in our lives without any help from God or anyone else. We give God certain areas for Him to fix, but we save the hardest ones for ourselves. We whack at the problem with whatever we have in our hands. Then we cry and worry until we find we have only made the problem worse. Only then do we finally call on God and hand the problem over to Him. God wants us to trust and lean on Him, even beyond all our own understanding.

In today’s world we usually see it as a sign of weakness if we need help, but it’s actually a sign of strength to recognize when we need assistance and seek it out. It’s so important to surround ourselves with godly friends who will speak into our lives and be there when the times are hard. We should also make sure we are that kind of friend to others.

If we talk to God daily, we can lean on Him as a close friend instead of making Him our last resort. Life was never intended to be a do-it- yourself project. Go ahead, call on Him first. He’s a professional.

Excerpt from "Life is a Buffet So What's On Your Plate?" Copyright © by Polly D. Boyette 2009 All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Watoto 2010 Slideshow

This is a slideshow of our recent trip to Kampala, Africa this past May 2010. I hope you'll enjoy viewing it, but most of all I hope it will open your eyes and your heart to what's going on in Africa and what God is doing there. If you are interested in learning more, you can go to www.watoto.com.