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He Knows Your Name

Learning Santos' name brought a scripture to mind, and it will be our verse for the month of August. It is out of Isaiah 43.

 
Would you spend a few moments with me to meditate on what this verse says?

Anytime God says, "Thus says the Lord," you will want to perk your ears up to listen. He is about to tell you something really important. Here he is talking to his people and he calls them both "Israel" and "Jacob." It's like when I call my kids by their many "special" names. Everyone knows them by their legal names, but we have our family terms of endearment for each one. For example Meghan is "Em," "Megs," and "Meggie," to us. She has her public name and then there are the names we give her because she is special to us. It shows ownership, relationship and love. This is how the Lord is establishing the rest of his message!  "Listen up, O Jacob!  O Israel!"

God underscores his words to us by reminding us that he himself made us. He knows his people (you) inside and out...the good, the bad and the ugly. He knows everything about you: your strengths and weaknesses, your gifts and talents, your history, your present and your future. He has created you uniquely special and he delights in you.

The first thing he says is, "Fear not!" Oh, yeah, he's got our number alright. He knows our deepest fears and darkest struggles and yet he says we don't need to be afraid.

We don't have to be afraid because he has redeemed us. Out of the slavery of sin and into the freedom of Christ, he has bought our redemption through Jesus' sacrifice. We are set free from the bondage of habits, sinful thoughts, abuse, anger and bitterness. You see, so many of our fears are based on the faulty belief that God can't or won't take care of us. But here he is reminding us of the amazing truth that he has not brought us up out of slavery, defeated all the powers of hell to do it and now will leave us here to die. That would be ridiculous!

God has redeemed you for a purpose, he's led you to this point and now he's telling you not to fear the future. In fact, I love the very next part: "I have called you by your name."

The sweetest sound you'll ever hear is your own name being spoken by someone who loves you. There is depth and ownership and relationship in your name on his lips. It sounds like a caress as he calls to you to just press in a little closer and let him take care of you. See, it's going to be o.k.

And as if calling you by your special name wasn't enough to show his care, he spells it out:

You. Are. Mine.

See, when you belong to someone, no one but the one who owns you has the right to tell you what to do. An owner names you, cares for you, provides for you, looks out after you, protects you and even gives you a purpose. That's who God is to us and what he does for us. Being "owned" by him isn't a bad thing, it's something wonderful. So why do we chafe at the thought of being owned?

Maybe the fear of "giving up our rights" keeps us from seeing the amazing life he offers under his ownership.

There is freedom.

There is safety and security.

There is purpose.

There is provision.

There is love.

Oh, look at me! I try so hard to keep my posts short and easy to read over morning coffee, and I'm afraid I've gone long today. But I want to reach out through the computer screen and grab each of you by the hand and say, "Let's get ahold of this! Let's let it sink in and change us! Let's let the Living God take over our lives and show us what it really means to walk in faith!" Of all the Small Things we can do together, this could be the most important one ever.  Please don't miss it!

Today's Small Thing is to print off or somehow post up Isaiah 43:1. Make a bunch of copies, if you want. This month, meditate on the words until it gets way down in your heart. And then just see how God's word starts to work in your life.  This is your day to begin.

POINTS: 30 for posting the verse somewhereDownload August verse2

BONUS: 20 for reading verses 1-21 on your own

As if you haven't read enough here today, go get another cup of coffee and check out this post: That's Not My Donkey's Name so Don't Be Thinkin He's Gonna Come When You Call Him That!

New Tally Sheet

You'll find a fresh Tally Sheet in the "Welcome" post at the top of the blog.  Just download it and stick it on your fridge or somewhere you'll be able to keep track of your points easily!

August Prizes and Really Tiny Small Thing

Oh, what could be better than to learn what you'll be playing for this month AND be assigned something so easy, so small that it could easily be called, "Today's Teensy Thing?"  See, your Monday is lookin good already!  

So let's start with the big daddy of prizes, the one for the Most Points earned.

This would be a perfect DVD to watch with a Company Girl or two.  I'll bring the popcorn.
Here are the tracks:

• Do What You Wanna Do
• If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It
• Maternity Clothing Resentment
• Prenatal Visit Trauma
• The Lactation Fairy Cometh
• Momisms (To The William Tell Overture)
• Aging Gracefully (Sort Of)
• The Journey (The Botox Song)
• Prize Inside
• Don't Breathe

Oh, yeah. This is a signed copy!  (Thanks to my friend Priscilla, I am only one degree away from actually knowing Anita.)  Have you seen her on youtube?

I will throw in a copy of:

In just 10 minutes a day, this journal will guide you through purposeful prayer for the things that are important, such your family, your husband, and your world.  I love Lisa's personal style and her unabashed love for Jesus.  Her ministry to moms is amazing, maybe because she is so real.

Our Random Drawing Winner will receive:

I had the pleasure of meeting Kathy and her friend Ellie Lofaro after a taping of Life Today with James Robison.  Over a plate of nachos at Chili's (I was definitely the odd person at the table, feeling very un-famous and very ordinary) Kathy and Ellie's warmth pulled me right in.  I will introduce you to Ellie next month, but for now....this book will be something to savor for the winner.

Today's Small Thing takes a tiny but mighty stab at chaos. 

I find that chaos breeds more chaos.  When things get beyond my control, they REALLY get beyond my control and I'm not just being redundant.  There are many Monday mornings I wake up and just don't even know where to start.  And then begins a spiral of defeat: because my kitchen is messy I can't do the laundry.  Because the laundry is piled in every room, I can't clean.  And since I can't clean, I can't do anything fun.  And since I can't do anything fun, I'm depressed.

Here's where you'll start today:  Simply straighten and organize your kitchen linens.  That's the fancy name for dishtowels, wash rags and pot holders.  (You could throw place mats and table cloths into that category, too, if you're so inclined.)  I have mine in a couple of drawers and they tend to get jumbled up throughout the week.  My pot holders have some pizza cheese on them and need to be washed. I'll bet I could throw a couple of those worthless pads away.  Why do I hang on to them??  I'm out of clean dishtowels and dish cloths so I'll wash them and fold them neatly away.

I may not get LOADS of laundry done today, but that's ok.  I only have to work on my kitchen linens to feel I've accomplished something important.  This task may just lead to other things but I won't worry about that because I've defeated chaos in ONE WHOLE AREA OF MY LIFE!  Who cares if it's just a tiny one?

POINTS: 40 for working on your kitchen towels and pot holders today.  Just straighten them up, if that's all they need. Open and close your drawers as many times as you like to gaze at the beauty of organization!

BONUS: 20 As long as you're at it, why not straighten your stored tablecloths and place mats, too? 

That's a lotta points for something so teensy!

July Winners!

Did you know that we have almost 600 Company Girls from all over the world?  Each time someone sends me an email to let me know they'd like to join in, I am absolutely tickled because it makes me realize just how many of us share a common bond.  We love our families and our homes, and we simply want to make our homes something special.  We want home to feel good on every level and that's what this is all about.  Thank you to all who participated in the Small Things this month....not just to those who submitted points, but the hundreds who checked in every now and then for a little bit of inspiration and encouragement. 

If you're still just thinking about joining in, why not start up today?  It's so easy it's ridiculous.  Even if you only do a couple of things each month, the results are wonderful and it feels great to do some things that make a difference at home.

Did I mention that being a Company Girl is easy?  Just email me and then jump in!  You know you wanna.

And now for the news you've been waiting for:

The Most Points winner for July is Forgetfulone,  Forgetfulone sent me a copy of her tally sheet and WOW!  She did a Small Thing every. single. day!  Forgetfulone is an active blogger and meme participator, which tells me that she's got a wide variety of interests...scrapbooking, crafting, cooking and doing things with her family.  Congratulations, Forgetfulone!  She gets the cute wrapping paper set.

The Random Drawing winner is Kelly at The Happiest Blog on Earth.  You've gotta love someone with that kind of upbeat attitude!  Kelly also did a great job with the points this month and her enthusiasm is contagious. Way to go, Kelly!  She gets the two signed books.

I will post the prizes for August on Monday, so stay tuned for those.  I truly enjoy having prizes to sweeten the pot and I got to thinking that perhaps some of you Company Girls might have something you'd like to contribute as a prize.  Do you hand-make anything?  Do you have access to a prize-worthy product?  Email me and let me know.  If your product is selected for a monthly prize, I will put a link to you in my sidebar for the month to give you some traffic and publicity.  Hey, this could be FUN!  And a great way for us to get to know more Company Girls.

By the time August rolls around, it's time to start making preparations for a new school year.  Even if you don't have children in school, it seems like the calendars in our heads mark this time of year as the "beginning" of the year.  Last year, I was buying school supplies the day before school started and it was a complete nightmare to try and find what I needed.  The pushing, the shoving, the scrambling for boxes of colored pencils....those moms out there can be savage.  Word to the wise: don't leave your cart unattended because some unscrupulous mother might just swipe it....believe me.

This year, I'm going to be much more organized. Some of you are way ahead of me on this so today's Small Thing will be easy.

Today's Small Thing is to take stock of your school and/or office supplies.  That's it.

Well, OK, if you want to take it a step further here's what you can do.  If you have school children, print off their supply lists and take note of what you need to get.  You could start a basket of things you have left over from last year (scissors, pencil bags etc.) so that they are ready to be added to when you get the rest of the stuff.  You could check the sale circulars to plan your shopping excursion.

If you don't have children at home, check out your own "school" supplies.  Do you have scissors, tape, paper, envelopes, pens and pencils handy?  This is a great time of year to purchase those items because every store has oodles in stock.  Make a list of what you need so that the next time you're at the store, you can stock up.

POINTS: 30 for taking stock of your school or office supplies

BONUS: 20 for taking one more step: making a purchase, organizing what you have, or putting a list of what you need into your purse so you'll remember when you're at the store.

If you've already done this for the upcoming year, go ahead and take 50 points for being so organized!

PS  I'll post a new tally sheet for August later today