Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Cinderella Mom

If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…

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This is 40

I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…

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Beauty on the Backroads {or Why I Changed the Name of my Blog}

I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…

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Here’s your sign …

I don’t endorse labeling people or groups as “stupid,” but that Bill Engvall comedy routine “Here’s your sign” still makes me chuckle a little when I think of it. (And maybe it dates me a little. Is he still around? I feel like I watched him in the 90s. Like that was so long ago.)

My husband and I have been doing our own version of “here’s your sign” with church signs lately. We seem to notice them. And not that we could come up with the “perfect” church sign message, but we end up shaking our heads or discussing the point of the message or wondering if it accomplishes its purpose.

I’m no Matthew Turner (Jesus Needs New PR. I love the signs people send in to him). He tends to attract the funny and provocative ones.

I haven’t seen anything like that around here. But try this church sign out. I saw it today.

“We’re too blessed to be depressed.”

That’s a different take on a similar churchy saying I’ve heard before.

What do you think?

What makes a good church sign message? What have you seen recently that makes you cringe? Or smile? Or think?

Would you attend a church based on the message on its sign?

Discuss.

I’d rather have Jesus … or would I?

The familiar tune began as we opened our hymnals and fixed our eyes on the screen at the front of the sanctuary.

“I’d rather have Jesus …” we began to sing, “than silver or gold. I’d rather be his than have riches untold.”

Suddenly my voice caught in my throat and I couldn’t sing the words. I couldn’t say the next lines: “I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands; I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.”

That is, I couldn’t say them and mean them.

By the time we hit the chorus —

Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

— I wasn’t singing anymore. I was mouthing the words because, you know, what if somebody noticed that I wasn’t singing this venerated hymn?

I wasn’t singing because there are a whole lot of things right now that I’d rather have than Jesus, and I don’t say that carelessly or to cast doubt on my salvation. It’s just where I’m at.

What would I rather have than Jesus? It’s not really about kingdoms or “vast domains” as the song says. Heck, I’d take a little control over the domestic domain inside these four walls.

Some days, I’d rather have a little extra spending money than Jesus. Oh, man, even typing that out makes me feel petty and selfish. Some days, I’d rather have coffee than divine strength. Some days, I’d rather have a life plan I can see and control. Or a house. Or a reliable car. Or a thinner body. Some days, I want what most people want: a healthy marriage, well-behaved kids, a clean house. Some days, I really want what our neighbors have: a nice big camping trailer and the vacation time to take it to exciting places. Every time the truck rolls by with the trailer in tow, I can feel the envy rising in my heart.

If only the song had stopped there, I might have been able to deal with my inability to sing. But it went on.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name

Men’s applause. Worldwide fame. OK, I probably don’t really want those things, either. But I do spend a lot of time fantasizing about my first novel or seeing my name in print again. And again. And again.

In the long run, this is my prayer — I’d rather have Jesus than anything else — but daily I battle. Who or what will be most important in my life?

Tell me I’m not the only one. Tell me you’ve done this — stopped singing because you didn’t feel the words or mean them. Tell me I’m normal. Or tell me I’m not.

Tell me. Is there anything you’d rather have than Jesus?