Free All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans: The Tired Supergirl's Search for Grace by Susanna Foth Aughtmon
Authors: Susanna Foth Aughtmon
Tags: Ebook
propelled by it. And he begins sacking the courtyard. Throwing tables. Spilling money. Freeing doves. The merchants scatter, and the birds soar heavenward. And as the dust settles, as the passion of the moment is spent, something very right happens. Jesus begins healing people. He has righted the wrong. The temple is ready to do what it is meant to do: restore the people to right relationship with God. Jesus, God in skin, has walked into his house and set it to rights. That’s good stuff.
And truly, we supergirls want to set things right as well. It is in the poor treatment of ourselves or of others that we supergirls are moved to anger. Nothing gets us steamed like when we see someone shamed or made fun of. Or when we are told we are less than we are. Or when we see a picture of a starving baby, pitiful and crying. We get furious. Violence against women? We are maddened. Children being molested? A seething, righteous anger pierces our hearts. And in these moments the voice of our Redeemer is loud.
The Instigator is saying, “Let’s tear this place up.” jesus is saying, “Let’s make it what it was meant to be.”
While the Instigator wants us to spend our anger on the pettiness of life, Jesus is inviting us to join him in using our anger to make life better. And while the Instigator would love the daily wrongs that rub against us to ignite into a raging fire, Jesus is wondering if we could let go of the anger that damages those around us and invites us to be angry with him about the things that matter. He would like us to get good and mad about babies that are too skinny, kids that have never met their dads, and people dying without knowing who he is. He is hoping we will rage against poverty, injustice, and people being mean to each other. And he would really like us to be a part of the solution.
Paul says it this way in Romans 12:21: “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
Jesus would love for us to do some good. To love some hurting people. And help some babies get fed. He would especially like us to give someone a glass of water or a piece of chocolate in his name. And then he would really appreciate it if we could conquer some evil. He promises to help us. And I think we can do it. After all, we are supergirls.
11
I AM UNDISCIPLINED
I would like to be able to tell you that I am disciplined. I would like to say that I have self-control. I would like to say that I am never late, I meet all expectations, I finish projects in a timely manner, and if I set my mind to something, I get it done. I would like to say all those things. But I would be lying. Instead I must say that I am usually late. This I blame on my children. I rarely meet my own expectations, and I am probably lacking in the area of others’ expectations of me as well. I tend to procrastinate. On a regular basis. I struggle to keep committed to things like proper sugar intake and craft kits. I have a needlepoint pillow I began soon after I married. I now have three children. It is still incomplete. I have such good intentions. I really do want to live my life in a way that is excellent. And yet when it comes to following through, I am found lacking.
Take my exercise program. I know I need to exercise at least three times a week, more if possible. I know I need to be completing some kind of weight-bearing routine to keep myself from becoming a poster child for osteoporosis. I know that exercise gives you more energy and can help with depression. So really, exercising not only benefits you but the people you interact with. I know these things. And yet my knowing these things does not necessarily translate into my doing these things. My current exercise program is that I buy exercise videos. I don’t actually do or even watch the videos. I just buy them. I have a nice row of shiny new DVDs lining my bookshelf. I see the infomercials on TV and I think, Oh, that looks fun! I could do that. And they lost
And truly, we supergirls want to set things right as well. It is in the poor treatment of ourselves or of others that we supergirls are moved to anger. Nothing gets us steamed like when we see someone shamed or made fun of. Or when we are told we are less than we are. Or when we see a picture of a starving baby, pitiful and crying. We get furious. Violence against women? We are maddened. Children being molested? A seething, righteous anger pierces our hearts. And in these moments the voice of our Redeemer is loud.
The Instigator is saying, “Let’s tear this place up.” jesus is saying, “Let’s make it what it was meant to be.”
While the Instigator wants us to spend our anger on the pettiness of life, Jesus is inviting us to join him in using our anger to make life better. And while the Instigator would love the daily wrongs that rub against us to ignite into a raging fire, Jesus is wondering if we could let go of the anger that damages those around us and invites us to be angry with him about the things that matter. He would like us to get good and mad about babies that are too skinny, kids that have never met their dads, and people dying without knowing who he is. He is hoping we will rage against poverty, injustice, and people being mean to each other. And he would really like us to be a part of the solution.
Paul says it this way in Romans 12:21: “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
Jesus would love for us to do some good. To love some hurting people. And help some babies get fed. He would especially like us to give someone a glass of water or a piece of chocolate in his name. And then he would really appreciate it if we could conquer some evil. He promises to help us. And I think we can do it. After all, we are supergirls.
11
I AM UNDISCIPLINED
I would like to be able to tell you that I am disciplined. I would like to say that I have self-control. I would like to say that I am never late, I meet all expectations, I finish projects in a timely manner, and if I set my mind to something, I get it done. I would like to say all those things. But I would be lying. Instead I must say that I am usually late. This I blame on my children. I rarely meet my own expectations, and I am probably lacking in the area of others’ expectations of me as well. I tend to procrastinate. On a regular basis. I struggle to keep committed to things like proper sugar intake and craft kits. I have a needlepoint pillow I began soon after I married. I now have three children. It is still incomplete. I have such good intentions. I really do want to live my life in a way that is excellent. And yet when it comes to following through, I am found lacking.
Take my exercise program. I know I need to exercise at least three times a week, more if possible. I know I need to be completing some kind of weight-bearing routine to keep myself from becoming a poster child for osteoporosis. I know that exercise gives you more energy and can help with depression. So really, exercising not only benefits you but the people you interact with. I know these things. And yet my knowing these things does not necessarily translate into my doing these things. My current exercise program is that I buy exercise videos. I don’t actually do or even watch the videos. I just buy them. I have a nice row of shiny new DVDs lining my bookshelf. I see the infomercials on TV and I think, Oh, that looks fun! I could do that. And they lost
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