Don't just shut the door; SLAM IT!

"Lord, if this is not Your will, don't just shut the door; SLAM IT!" 

Thanks, Will Tate for teaching me this prayer.  I have used it many times but especially recently because we have been doing that oh-so-fun activity of house hunting.  At first, it was fun!  And I'm totally an "enjoy the journey" kind of girl.  But then the process turned into a process that could possibly result in a stomach ulcer.  

I had a friend as me not too long ago "How do I know that was the Lord's sign and not my brain just tell me what I want to hear?"

So, of course, my response was, "Oh, I know exactly the answer to all of your questions because I have all of this stuff figured out, and I know exactly what God's plan is for me and all the steps to get there.  Not to brag, but I'm kind of an expert on this."  

Just Kidding!!! 

I told her I'm right there too.  I ask this question all the time.  It's not easy to know what God's plan is and His will and His purpose.  I know staying in constant prayer and reading His Word every day helps, but the answer is usually still not simple.  And I told her I often pray that if this is not God's will, don't just shut the door; SLAM IT so I know that's not the path you want me to take.

We started looking for a house a few months ago.  We found a great house that was new construction and in our budget.  The only downside was it had a small yard, but we decided to go for it.  We had it under contract, but the deal fell through a week before closing.  Was this God saying this wasn't the house for us?  Was God telling us to save more money for a down payment?  Was he saying yes, no, or not yet?  I had no idea.  

We waited a couple of months, and then last week, we saw the same house was still on the market.  It gets better!  The seller had reduced the price of the home, and interest rates had gone down.  Bingo!  So we made another offer... and so did someone else.  The seller accepted the other person's offer.  I was shocked at how calm I was, but I kept saying, "God slammed the door.  Clearly, this wasn't the right house for us.  It'll be fine."

Later that week, another house popped up on the market.  And I thought it was perfect.  It was only a year old, was in a great location, and best of all had a big, beautiful backyard!  It had been on the market for about 17 hours when we made our offer along with three other people.  This time, when the door slammed, I wasn't so calm about it.  I pouted and wallowed and ate way too much junk food and watched too much tv.  

But then the next day, we received the sweetest letter from the sellers via both of our realtors (glorified note-passing) explaining their situation and why they took the other offer, and they wished us the best of luck finding a home.  I was floored!  They did not have to do this, but it was so incredibly kind of them to do this.  I felt really guilty for all the wallowing.

So the only option left was to wait for something else to come along.  

So now my prayer was, "Lord, I have NO idea what You're up to, but if You could let me in on whatever it is, I'd appreciate it." 

Then I got the phone call today... that first house that we first had the offer on might be available again.  So do we go for it?  Or do we wait for something else to come along?  We decided to sleep on it before making any decisions, and we found out the next morning this house was not an option. The door was slammed shut. 

When Ben and I got home yesterday, we were relieved more than anything.  And for the first time that I can remember, I thanked God for slamming doors.

Thy Will Be Done

"Sometimes I gotta stop
Remember that You're God
And I am not
So
Thy will be done."
          -Hilary Scott

Since I was in high school, I have ended my prayers with, "Let Your will be done. Nothing more. Nothing less. And nothing else." 

I know that I don't always know what is best for my life so sometimes, I have no idea what to pray for.  It's in these moments that I pray, "Thy will be done" simply because I don't know what else to say. 

But then someone - I wish I could remember who it was - once told me that she prayed, "Thy will be done. And help me be okay with it."

Woah.  Game changer.

God's will does not always match up to Lacey's will.  I have learned over the years that I am not always meant to understand God's will, but I am supposed to accept His will no matter what that may be. 

Funeral Funnies

When I was 16, we went through a period of losing several older family members in a few short months including my granddaddy and a few great uncles on both sides of the family. While funerals are a very sad, somber time, they are sometimes the source for unexpected humor, and unexpected humor makes for great memories. 

“We are at the wrong funeral!!”
My older brother was trying to tell my mother at a funeral for my great uncle, “There’s a black man in the casket. We’re at the wrong funeral!” My great uncle had been on dialysis for many, many years, and his skin had darkened significantly as a side effect. This explanation did not suffice for my brother.

During the service, the preacher who didn’t really know my uncle kept referring to him as Walter. “Walter was loved by his family. Walter was a good man.” His name was Clyde. My brother whispered to my mother again, “We are at the wrong funeral!”

Then the preacher stated, “Walter proudly served his country in the army during Vietnam.” To which my grandmother in her oh-so-graceful way declared out loud, “He wasn’t in the army! He was a diabetic!”

To this day, my brother is convinced he attended someone else’s funeral.



The Unknown Niece
When one of my dad’s uncles passed away, we loaded up to go to the funeral. I didn’t really know this uncle very well, but I wanted to be there for my dad and the family. It was a small, sweet service. At the closing of the graveside service, the preacher went around to each person and said something sweet. “Your husband loved you more than anything in the world.” “Your dad was a good man and loved you very much.” Then he got to me. He took my hands in his, searched my face, and after a long few moments said, “I honestly have no idea who you are, but I’m sure he loved you.”

Late for His Own Funeral
Another uncle on my dad’s side passed away during the same time period. I wasn’t there, but my parents describing the day’s events were priceless. It was a small graveside service. The family assembled, and they were ready to begin except there was a problem. Our uncle was nowhere to be found! The hearse had gotten lost and was late.

The family waited for a while, but the funeral director told them there was another service scheduled to start in thirty minutes. The options were to begin the funeral without our uncle or to join in with the next family. Join in with the next family? Have you ever heard of anything so hysterically ridiculous? So they started the service, and the uncle’s casket eventually arrived. According to my parents, the preacher never skipped a beat but only paused long enough to say, “And here he is now!”

Leave it to a Phillips to be late to his own funeral.

How May I Serve You?

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14

This was the verse for my daily Bible reading this morning. I’ve heard this story a million times so I didn’t think much of it until I got to the application part in my journal. How does this verse apply to me? Then it hit me.

A long time ago, I heard someone describe a person as “a waste of space” and “better off dead.” Ouch. That hurt me. I wasn’t overly fond of the person he was talking about either, but I wouldn’t say that he was better off dead. I would like to think I wouldn’t say that about anyone no matter how much I didn’t like them.

Even though this happened forever ago, it still hurts my heart to think about those words, “a waste of space.” Even though this person has made a long list of terrible decisions, I don’t think he is better off dead.

It got me thinking about my own life. I hope my life is full of purpose, value, meaning, love, joy, and sunshine. I hope my life will bring happiness to others. I hope my life reflects the peace and hope that I’ve been given straight from Jesus. I hope God uses me for HIS good and HIS purpose. I hope I am never considered a waste of space by anyone.

Squirrel back to the verse this morning. Jesus gave the ultimate example of humility when He washed the feet of the disciples. This is a direct order from Jesus Himself – not a suggestion – to be humble and to not think of ourselves as better than anyone else and to serve others. Just because someone has made a lot of bad decisions, that doesn’t mean that I am above him. Grace that was given to me is the same grace that is extended to anyone who will accept it.

I am going to really start making an effort on small ways to serve others, especially through prayer, love, and grace. If I can help make one person’s day just a little bit easier on them, it will be worth it.

So now I ask… How May I Serve You?

More than Just a Pretty Vase

"But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You are the potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand."
Isaiah 64:8

One day at church, it occurred to me that if God is the Potter, and I am the clay, I want Him to make me into something useful, something with a purpose.

Some vases are made to be pretty - nothing more.  You stick them on a shelf or on a table to look pretty, take up space, collect dust, then be sold for $2 at a yard sale.  There are some vases where you put lovely fresh cut flowers for a week until the flowers die then you stick the vase back in the cabinet.

Then there are flower pots that may or may not be pretty, but that's not the point of the flower pot.  The true purpose is serving as a home for plants to thrive.  It is not glamorous.  It's actually dirty, but it's strong.  You see the plants - not the pot.  It has a purpose.  It has meaning.  It is more than just a pretty vase.

This is what I want for my life.  I want people to see Christ, not me.  I want to get down in the trenches and get my hands dirty.  I want to be strong.  I want to have purpose and meaning in all that I do.  I don't want to just sit on a shelf collecting dust.  I want to be useful.  I want to be more than just a pretty vase.

Proud of Our Karen!

I have been working with this wonderful woman, Karen Smith for 5.5 years, but she never ceases to amaze me with her kindness, grace, contagious joy, and almost-annoying optimism. She WAKES UP HAPPY!! It's the weirdest thing I've ever witnessed. But I adore this woman. To work with her for all these years has been full of challenges, excitement, heartbreak, surprises, lots of laughter, tears, lessons, love, growth, and, yes, lots and lots of happiness!! By the way, she always, always says that all the Beachy Beachers and I were WITH her - not FOR her. Just that one word makes a huge difference.

She is constantly learning and growing herself so that she can help others grow and succeed. She has had storm after storm, challenge after challenge, heartbreak after heartbreak, but she will, in the words of Poppy, "Get Back Up Again!" She is the shining light our world so desperately needs. She handles herself so beautifully solving the world's problems every day, volunteers way too much, gives so much to others, loves all of her precious grandbabies, and does all the things while ALWAYS looking cute!

Last week, Karen was the recipient of the Community Impact Award at the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner, and we could not be more proud of her.

"The greatest part of recognizing this individual for this particular award is that we get to highlight how they have positively impacted not just their own business- but so many other small businesses in this room in ways that inspire INTEGRITY. You can’t help but step up to do better and be better when you come in contact with this person."

We love you, Karen!

Not the Morning Person I Want to Be

I remember random things, and a vivid memory I have from first grade is one of me writing on a notepad that I wanted to start waking up at six in the morning.  Why do I remember this?  Because a boy sitting next to me pointed to it laughing and showed it to another kid.  They were both laughing and joking, but I didn't understand why my new goal was so funny.  It wasn't the goal they were laughing at.  I have never been the best speller, and I spelled "six" with an "e" instead of an "i."  Yeah.  To add to my embarrassment that obviously scarred me for life, I still did not understand why they would not stop laughing at what I wrote.  This wasn't the first time or the last my poor little sheltered brain would be the cause of laughter, but that's okay. 

The point that I need to get to is that I have always, always wanted to be a morning person, but I have always struggled with this.  I have always wanted to take my time getting ready, do yoga or a quick workout, do my daily Bible reading, and journal before the day got officially started.  My days always just go better when I wake up early.

I go to bed pretty early, and I sleep SUPER great (thanks, Plexus!), but I still hit the snooze button in the morning.  I don't look at my phone an hour before bedtime, and my phone is on the other side of the room.  I'm wondering if it has anything to do with our sweet fur babies who want to go outside around 5:30 and then back inside a few minutes later.  Or am I sleeping too much?  Why is it so hard for me to just wake up. 

Do you have any tips or tricks or advice to help me become the morning person I want to be?