David v. Goliath

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I love it when people do the right thing. I love it even more when people do the right thing without being asked and in the face of adversity. It’s sad when people have to threaten legal action to get the right thing done. I believe there is something more powerful than our legal system and that is social media. That’s why I’m writing this.

I love taking trips. Our bags were packed and we were ready to go on a “bucket list” trip to Washington DC to run a half marathon and to see our country’s great sites. Hurricane Florence had other ideas for our trip. As we watched the weather, we were prepared to run, rain or shine. And the money we spent on the run specifically stated no refunds would be issued – rain or shine. Forty-eight hours before Florence hit and states of emergency were declared across all the states we were heading to, our race was canceled.

Airports closed, flights were canceled and our hopes of traveling to the area were squelched. Lansdowne Resort in Virginia refunded us 100% of the money paid for our rooms for 4 nights. Groupon offered reimbursements for the money we spent for the tours. The folks at the DIVA run offered us options to at get something for the money we spent on the race that could not happen, in spite of their policy of no refunds rain or shine. Lansdowne Resort, Groupon and those at the DIVA run did the right thing in the face of adversity.

Now for the people who didn’t do the right thing and where I’m counting on social media to help spread the word. Before we made our reservation at TM luxury suites International in Washington DC through booking.com, we looked at all the reviews and they seemed really great. I guess it’s easy to write a great review when no adversity strikes. Enter Florence.

It has now been over a month since our bucket list trip got canceled and booking.com and TM luxury suites are still refusing to reimburse us the almost$500 for two nights at this place. Booking.com, after multiple calls and e-mails and we provided evidence of all the cancelation documents and proof of the charges, offered $120…IF I charged them them amount of time I spent on hold with them at my working hours rate, it still doesn’t even come close to being the right thing.

We’ve sent countless emails and had hours and hours of conversations at booking.com and with Sara, the manager at TM luxury suites. Sara is even refusing to refund the $99 cleaning fee for a place that we never even set foot in!! Booking.com doesn’t want to budge because TM luxury suites has a policy about their refunds. I understand all that, sort of, but again, I think about the people who did the right thing in this adverse circumstance AND in spite of their policies and refunded a hundred percent of our money.

$500 may not seem a lot, and it really isn’t when you see everything that people are going through in that area. And then again, I take a look now at Hurricane Michael. Again, I am amazed at all the people who are doing the right thing and in the face of adversity. And for those who don’t do the right thing, that’s where we need to count on social media to warn us to spend our money in other areas.

Please support places like Lansdowne Resort, Groupon and the DIVA run, (running for those with breast cancer.) 

www.groupon.com

https://www.destinationhotels.com/lansdowne-resort/local-area

https://www.runlikeadiva.com

In America,we have the freedom to warn people about those who don’t do the right thing. And we have the ability to focus on those who DO THE RIGHT THING WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING. And choice of where we spend our hard earned money. Use your dollars and to spend them where people do the right thing. 

The TRUTH

Trust no one.

The truth is out there.

I’m a big X-Files fan. If you know the show, you know those two phrases were the tag lines. Growing up, every Friday when I got home from working at the bank, my dad and I would make margaritas and popcorn and watch the latest episode. We’d watch Scully and Mulder, two FBI Agents from very different backgrounds, relying on very different things, searching for answers as partners. One led by science and her medical training; the other led by a love for his sister who he witnessed be abducted. The truth was out there at the end of every episode. And it was a different truth for each of them.

It has never been more important than now to know the truth.

Just turn on the t.v. Between the Kavanaugh hearings and every single ad you hear with the political campaign going on right now– Who do we believe? What is the truth? And if we count on our TV’s for the truth, we’re in serious trouble.

But we’re all searching for it.

—

I often wonder how many times Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, talked about Jesus Christ and all that he witnessed as one of His disciples? Did he ever point someone to His saving grace?

Then I remember, Jesus knew him.

And Jesus knew Judas’s heart.

Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. 2The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.” Matthew 26: 24

I kinda feel bad for Judas– Did his heart feel bad for what he did?

Jesus Knows.

It had to happen.

—

Isaiah the prophet spoke of Jesus long ago, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release from darkness to the prisoners,”  Isaiah 61

I also sometimes wonder how many times the Jewish leaders of their day spoke of the One who came to set the captives free, and yet led the way for Jesus Christ to be crucified. And now, how many new believers, or even “seasoned believers,” are missing the whole story when told about being a good person, and many ways leading to heaven? How often are we led astray into dangerous behaviors and beliefs and by this world’s desire for comfort, for money, for status, or for a desire to be so politically correct that we give a trophy to everyone and we miss the truth that, although it is available to ALL, the road is indeed narrow.

The truth is, in fact, out there.

If you’re in a hotel room- it’s right next to your bed. Maybe it’s in your closet. Maybe it’s left behind in the pew in that beautiful building down the street. Or maybe it’s in your hand right now.

God’s Word: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:13

Sometimes I’ve got it right, and more often times than that, I’ve gone so wrong. My intentions could be good, but where was my heart in my behaviors? What were my intentions?

How many times did I intend to eat a salad and ended up eating a whole bag of Tostitos thin and crispy Cantina tortilla chips (seriously amazing chips!)? (I confess, more than once).

How many times in college did swear I was going to stay in and make it to my 8 am class, but  then stayed out too late drinking too much and miss my 10 am classes?

How many times did I get sucked in to gossip, to doing the wrong thing- the very things I hate… I confess–more often than not.

But I know the truth.

I know the cost that God paid by sending his son Jesus to be betrayed and crucified, but to open the door wide for all who believe him. For all who know He rose again, and that he’ll be returning.

Jesus tells us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

There is only 1 way. His name is Jesus Christ.

Truth.

And God knows your heart.

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” Psalm 51:17

We’re told that God desires a repentant heart. And that what’s most important is to Love God and to Love one another. We will go wrong. We can be let astray. But there is hope for those who turn their hearts and their minds back to the truth.

And at the end of this episode there is the TRUTH.

Trust Him.

 

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”Philippians 2:9-11 ESV

R.O.Y. G. B. I. V.

ROYGBIV

October 1st in the desert. Those of us who live here know that the last few months have been brutally hot. This heat tends to send things hibernating and the weak of heart only come here to escape their own weather when things cool down.  There are those who say there is no beauty in the desert. They say you can count on the heat and only two colors—the brown of the hard packed earth (and smog) and blue of the sky that for months and months won’t witness a cloud or rain.

 A storm is coming.

They’re calling this one Rosa— I don’t know how they pick those names but I’m thanking Rosa this morning because she has brought clouds to the blue sky, rain to the brown and my ability to go out for a run today without fear of perishing from heat exhaustion. Temps have plummeted form 105 degrees to a mere 75 degrees today. It rained through the night and had stopped for now, but they’re predicting such tremendous precipitation that flooding is imminent for many communities. I’m not thinking 40 days or anything, but it sounds like it’ll last several days into this week.

Of course, before I could make it out the door, I had to rub the ointments on my foot for the pain, and I also had to don my prescription glasses in hopes of seeing where I’m going. (The desert in the summer AND this getting older thing isn’t for the weak of heart.)

Speaking of heart—You could say I’ve been struggling with joy in my heart these dog days of summer… As a Christian, we’re told (and I believe) that since we believe in Jesus Christ, we always have joy.  I carry that hope that I have eternity with Him to look forward to and it keeps me smiling and pushing on, but sometimes things of this world just get me down…It’s just not a “Joel Osteen”-kind of day today. And, with the way things looked last week in our nation, it’s not a “J.O.” kind of week.

I can point to a myriad of things getting me down besides how sad I am about how we treat each other:  the heat has been exhausting, that micro fracture in my foot that kept me from running for several weeks, the inability to see clearly without eyeglasses, the eye infection I am still struggling with caused by the devastating fires this summer, and all that training for a half-marathon that got cancelled because of the other hurricane (Florence.) And that storm also affected a friendship in my life — I don’t understand why, but it would seem that things beyond my control are pulling me down.

And my cat is sick. So, I turned to where I’ve found joy before; running and being outside in God’s earth.  I do believe He still speaks to and through His creation, so I went out for my run and was praying to God for a hopeful glimpse at some Joy….

About 2 miles in, the pain in my foot started to dissipate and I grew more aware of the things around me. I thought about the two colors of the desert—brown and the blue—But, as my focus shifted, the vision of the desert before me was alive with more colors than I could name! From Mr. Hensen’s Jr. high school science class, I remembered the acronym R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. The color spectrum with each letter representing a color that is illuminated in a rainbow.

“A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.” – Wikipedia

And also from Wikipedia—“The rainbow is an important symbol in the Bible, representing a promise of peace from God to Noah…”

Even though there wasn’t enough sunshine today to create a real rainbow, I thought I would look for the representation of that in the colors around me.

So I put it out there— “Okay God, it would plant some joy in my heart to see ALL the colors of the rainbow.” —And I began focusing on things around me (instead of my pain…)

First there was the Red Baja Fairy Duster— (I just love the names of the plants in this desert)— Then there was the vivid orange blooms of the Honeysuckle. I didn’t see the Y – yellow, so I moved on to the G in green—Well, that was everywhere! Supporting the blooms on the leaves of all these lovely shrubs and plants, but also unlimited shades of it on all the Saguaro, Agave and Prickly Pear Cacti. And still, I found no B – Blue. I quickly located the Indigo and the Violet attracting all the bees and hummingbirds on the numerous blooms covering the Arizona Sage bushes. So, it just got down to needing to see some yellow and some blue. With each step and each color I could check off in the rainbow, I felt a little more of my Joy returning. 

I decided to stop focusing on everything that was just on my side of the street, and as I looked to the other side, I found it!  A beautiful stucco home with yellow blooming Brittle Bush and Arizona Yellowbells punctuating it’s landscaping.  

“Wow Lord,” I thought, these colors are amazing, BUT I still hadn’t seen blue yet…

However, as I continued on, I was mesmerized by mom many more colors—the bright pinks and fuchsias of the Oleanders and Bouganvilia and adorable little white blooms of the Flattop Buckwheat. But I was still holding out for the blue. 

So disappointing. 

And then, no lie, a blue car drove by. I laughed — “Really, God?” Then I doubted. Was that really blue?—It was really more gray.  I’m not counting it. I continued on… But my throat was bubbly with the tinges of that laughter, my feet were lighter; I felt supported by everything around me. My vision of the world started to look brighter, even though the clouds of Rosa continue to build in the sky.

I was about 4 blocks away from my destination and a bright blue Nissan SUV pulled out into the road- traveling the same direction I was going. I had to laugh again. Okay that’s for sure blue. No mistaking that.  I even looked it up—Nissan calls that color-CASPIAN BLUE.

Then I thought, “Is this really God speaking to me through all these little things? Am I just looking for God to speak to me to lift me up??!” 

Earlier this week I saw this quote from Fred Rogers…

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

― Fred Rogers

I believe there are scary things in the news, but, like Mr. Rogers, I believe in looking for the helpers. I believe what I believe. The more I thought about my search for ROY G BIV to provide me with hope, the more I realized what I was missing. 

The Blue. It’s always been there—One of the two colors we’re most known for here in the desert southwest-that brown and blue. The sky, now temporarily masked in white and grey clouds bringing the impending storm, yet most always can be counted on to reflect it’s blue in Arizona.  

Sometimes the storms of life and the pain in our lives changes our focus from what is always available -The Blue Sky of Joy we always have available to us. By Faith, I know I always have that joy and today God made it feel so real, so alive, so all encompassing, personal, and so vibrant. And I thank Him for that. I know, and I know, and I know, and my joy is returning.

I guess the question is, “What do you look for?”