Here's what I love: God meets me where I am. Here's what I hate: stepping in dog poop.

Here's what I love: having two daughters means getting to do lots of hair. When I was little, one of my favorite parts of playing with dolls was doing hair. Combing it 'til it was silky smooth, braiding it once I learned how, trying new styles and then starting all over again! Now, I have two LIVING dolls to comb and braid. How fun is that!? Well, as it turns out, it's not always that fun...You see, they wiggle. They whine. (Even though I am gentle!) AND, they often say that they don't want their hair done at all. What?! How could you not want your hair combed 'til it is silky smooth!? Or braided in two adorable little braids!? Well, the main reason is, they can not be bothered to stop whatever they are doing and come into the bathroom for me to brush and brush and brush their hair. That could take five minutes of their coloring time or television time or play time. So, because I am a kind mother (and a master at doing the hair of a moving target), I come to them. I do their hair at the kitchen counter while they color. I do their hair on the coffee table while they watch Curious George. I do their hair while they play with Polly Pocket.

You may be wondering why it is so important to me that my girls have their hair done--braided, or at least combed. Well, the main reason is, I care about them. I want to prevent tangle-build up and I hate for them to go out like little bed-heads.

Then I realized that the Lord does the same thing for us. Even though He calls us into His presence to let Him work on some changes to our spirits, we OFTEN, can't be bothered to drop what we are doing. It might take five minutes away from our Facebook time, or our television time, or our texting time. So, He comes to us. Why? Because He is a loving Father and a master at sculpting the life of a moving target.

How does He come to us? He nudges by bringing a scripture to our minds in the middle of our TV show. He appears on the computer screen when we get an encouraging word from a family member. Or He calls us out of our selfishness when we get a text from a friend in need. He forms patience in us when we have to wait in traffic. He cultivates mercy by showing us the homeless person on the street. He brings peace in the midst of a trial. He pours joy into our hearts with the morning sun.

Why does He want to continue to work on our spirits? (Philippians 1:6, He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!) He likes to guard against the build-up of discontentment. And He hates for us to go around town with ugly spirits.

Oh my goodness, I am so grateful He comes to me! How I long to run to Him and seek out His loving handiwork on my life! Imagine how my spirit could shine if I go to Him!

Here's what I hate: stepping in dog poop. Actually, I did not step in actual dog poop (this time). Today, I innocently walked through a bunch of acorn-sized fruit that had dropped from this big tree. As it turns out, these fruit (when squashed beneath the sole of my cute new boots) smell like a cross between Parmesan cheese and dog poop. Now, get this, I could not smell them as I walked through them. If I had, I would not have walked through them. Well, the problem is that I walked into the Fed-Ex place and began smelling this horrible smell. I looked down at the shoes of the man in front of me and was convinced he has stepped in dog poop. I stuck my nose down into my scarf so that I wouldn't have to smell him. Then, he left. The smell did not. I looked at the lady at the counter next to me. Could she maybe have a small dog in that purse of hers? A dog that had just left her a dirty little present inside? Hm. I turned my head in the oposite direction. Then, she too left the store. I was left with a horrible fact dawning on me. It was me! I smelled like crap! I finished my label for my mailing, paid and hurried out into the fresh air. That was when I saw the tree. A breeze blew in my direction--and the smell of the little squashed whatevers hit me in the face. I tiptoed back through the mine field of nasty smelling tree pellets to my car. I tried to wipe off the remains of the fruit from my feet so as not to let that smell into my car. Ug.

Unfortunately, I do this a lot with other types of problems. I blame other people for the bad "odor" that has entered my life that day. I narrow my eyes at my seven year old who's eye-rolling is ruining my morning coffee. I assume that it was my husband's forgetting to take the trash out that now has me in bad humor. But, is it really? Is it other people making the room stink? Or, did I walk through a patch of bad attitude all on my own? There's only one thing to do when that realization hits me. Own up to the stink and try to scrape it off so that I don't carry it with me all day. Because who really wants to smell like crap all day?! I hate that!