40 days and 40 nights…

Since a few months ago when a tree landed on my roof, I’ve had the pleasure of a few guests barely not overstaying their welcome. Although they’ve come close a few times to me yelling, “Get the chirp outta here!” 

fireplace_chimney_parts_diagram

Well, the short story is that this tree knocked off the chimney cap, which I didn’t think was a big deal. That is, until one night I heard ruffling and chirping coming from where? Surely not where I think it is… Yep, the fireplace! So from inside the house I opened up the fireplace and… nothing. This is where it gets a bit more complicated: the fireplace damper had been closed so the bird evidently made a nest above it. Now if I open the damper, everything comes tumbling down, thereby ruining the nest that might already have eggs in it. Or if I put the chimney cap back on when I know the bird is out and about, I may trap the babies without their mama. OK, I did say this was the short story so to sum up… for the past couple of months (or maybe it’s been a week? It’s hard to tell) I’ve heard the chirping of birds at all hours of the day. Part of me is like, “awwwwww how cute.” The other part of me is like, “@#&$*#@% birds!” 

-Out of the Wilderness

Is being a Christian really this easy?

There’s a talk radio host in Nashville I love listening to and one day he had this most simple yet profound thought summarized below…

As a kid, all you really need to do is get good grades and obey your parents.

If you do those two things, the world will open up to you in ways you actually really want. Is your friend having a party? Want to go on that trip with your friend and their family? Dying to get that new Playstation game? Well, those dreams can be reality if you just behave and do well in school. This sort of blanket statement obviously has exceptions, but just imagine the trust between parents and kids if this was the norm.

I often think of my beagle, Piper. If you have a beagle you will totally relate to what I’m about to say. She follows her nose. Sometimes that nose gets her in trouble. It’s why she absolutely must be on a leash outside if she’s not in a fence. I can call her all day long but she will not come to me when she’s hot on the trail of [insert animal here]. There have been too many times to count where she’s gotten out of the fence, or escaped from a place of safety and been gone for hours. What she doesn’t know is that if she were to behave, she would actually have MORE freedom, more time off the leash. But without a doubt, if she’s off-leash, she’s off and running. I wish she knew that if she obeyed, she’d have a lot more freedom.

It’s a simple statement about Piper, and about a child getting good grades and obeying their parents. For each one, a lot of their life would be better and more fun if they just follow a few rules. It sounds so simple.

Then I connected this thought with the Christian life. God knows we are people prone to complicated webs of rules and jealousy and bossiness and selfishness and, well, I could go on and on… but in the Bible He laid it out in such a way that’s easy to grasp:

Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.

Now I know that’s not as easy as it sounds but isn’t it pretty amazing that there isn’t a gigantic rule book to follow? Heck, even the Old Testament only had 10 rules (which were easy to break, might I add).

Even these two commands, loving God with our whole selves and loving our neighbor, is hard to follow because of our human nature but it’s a lot easier to give ourselves a chance and some grace knowing that with a bit of submission and trying to obey, we can actually have more freedom than if we try to do things our own way.

What are your thoughts on this? I’d love for you to share in the comments below, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

 

Publix ad featuring Ro Malone “Home” is simply adorable!

Adorable. Cute. Warm. Charming. Memorable. These are all words to describe Publix’s new minute-long ad featuring clips of families in all types of situations spending time together. The commercial is backed by the song “Home” by Ro Malone. Take a look: 

There aren’t many commercials spanning a full minute but when one comes along, it’s got to be good in our TikTok-attention-span world. This one is oozing with all the things we traditionally love about “home,” whether it’s making meals together, laughing, playing, etc… but also fitting for the times we’re living in with clips of people using Zoom, Facetime, or doing online workouts. Plus it’s got babies and dogs, so of course it’s a winner.

[Publix Thanksgiving Ad features original song “I Remember This” and it’s amazing]

About the artist… Ro Malone started her journey in Ireland but now lives in California. She’s relatively new to the TV/music scene but has already had success with songs featured in various local California ads and a few national spots. You can see more of her work here. Wishing her all the success as she gets more exposure in the industry! Her song in this Publix ad is simply the perfect fit. Ro had high praise for the folks she worked with to make it all happen, saying, “It’s a privilege to have my music selected for use by a team of professionals, and I am filled with warmth that my song ‘Home’ which I wrote quite some time ago has indeed now found a home for itself, with a lovely brand too.”

Here is the full version of the song:

I’ll end this post with Publix’s newest ad for Thanksgiving 2020. Check it out here!

-Out of the Wilderness

would you rather buy new or used?

I put up an informal poll on Facebook to see what my friends like to buy new vs. used. The reason I did this is because one night when I should have been sleeping, I wondered how many things most people buy used. I would guess cars are the most common used thing people buy, at least in regards to the high dollar items. But I also thought of houses. We don’t really refer to them as used but if someone has lived in a house you bought, technically it’s used. So cars and houses are big ticket items on the used list. But what else? How about toothbrushes? Just kidding, that’s gross. Well, here are a few comments pulled from Facebook for what some people prefer to buy used.

Cars was the item most agreed upon. Then books. After that, furniture, one of my favorites to buy used usually at estate sales. Financial expert Dave Ramsey said about buying used furniture:

For what you spent on some little cheap piece of furniture that’s going to fall apart, you could’ve gotten on Craigslist and bought a real quality piece slightly used from somebody who’s just getting a divorce and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.

You can check out the rest of his comments in context here, but back to the Facebook inquiry, the list of used things goes on with:

puzzles

purses

athletic equipment

kids’ clothes

kids’ toys

kitchen cookware

quilts

area rugs

jewelry

computers

boats

houses

So you can see there is a wide array of things that folks will buy used. It’s also important to note that, as some of my friends commented, they won’t always and only buy these things used, because sometimes you do buy a new house or a new toy for your kids, but with things that have a short lifespan (kids’ clothes, for instance), buying used is a more economically sound thing to do. It’s why people buy used cars, too, because they say the second you drive a new car off the lot the value drops significantly.

How about you? Is there anything you prefer to buy used that’s not on the list? What will you only buy if it’s brand new? Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Shooting stars in the night sky

The other day I was outside looking up at the night sky and it dawned on me that I can’t remember the last time I saw a shooting star. Those used to be so special to me. I’d sit and wait, praying, “Lord, please let me see a shooting star.” I guess I have always thought of them as a sign (I’m careful using that word because I don’t need any more signs that God exists) that there is so much more out there, that God is so much bigger than I think, and yet He still cares enough to amaze me with something that’s thought of as a common occurance.

What concerned me even more this particular night, more than not remembering the last time I saw a shooting star, is that I can’t remember the last time I looked up for a shooting star with hopeful anticipation in God. I think at times in my life I get caught looking down. Not just caught, but in a routine of looking down. I forget that with God, the unimaginable is possible… and the imaginable, too! It’s like a hopeless romantic slowly routining the romance out of their story. Then it’s just hopeless. Days go by with the simple satisfaction of not having a bad day.

When did not having a bad day mean it was a good day?

So my hope for you and for me is that today you, I, look up with hope that we’ll see a burning light in the sky and remember God is big, and He cares.

-Out of the Wilderness