We visited Ikea in Costa Mesa while spending time with family in southern California this week. Brenda and I experienced our first store last year in Atlanta. Once you go, you are hooked. Suffice it to say, it is Disneyland for homeowners. I even overheard a guy say to his friend that Ikea was his third home, next to Home Depot. I understand.

The Scandinavian functionality is refreshing. Sometimes American style is %75 fluff and and %25 function. The attention to simple lines and solid colors have a calming affect. The use of wood is also attractive when the warm, earthy paint choices, accented by white, fill almost every design. As we visited the showroom, we followed the meandering walkway, taking in each display,  pilfering through movie-set models, all the while feeling like we were invading someone’s personal space. The doll house designs are so well constructed that if you wanted to fool your family and friends into thinking you live in a Swiss chalet, you can dress the kids in sweaters and choose your favorite living room design, set up the camera and, voila (wallah),  there’s your Christmas card.

Most of the designs are compact. There is so little wasted space that it seems you are walking in a travel trailer. Americans love their huge living spaces as opposed to the Europeans who are happy to make a go at raising their families in apartment-sized offerings. I guess the plus side of Europe is that you have preset limits. In the US, we experience urban sprawl–where our communities are spread out with no discipline. Many US households experience, what I call, domestic sprawl. We collect so much junk, our huge homes have become crowded. Ikea has come to America’s rescue.

I am enamored with Ikea. I would love to live in one of their little dream homes. It would be a feat to unload all of our extra stuff to be able to fit into one of those boxes. Still, I kind of like stretching out with elbow room. Isn’t that what America is about? Everything is BIG here. Until I am forced to live in stacked housing like those poor folks in Tokyo, I’m gonna enjoy my big, fat American dream home.

All my life I dreamed of traveling. When we would drop grandma off at the airport to go back to San Jose after her visits in the 60s, the large PSA jets came into view and I always got excited. One day, I said to myself, I am gonna be the one leaving! The caustic smell of spent diesel fuel emanating from curbside buses still reminds me of those days at LAX.

My dreams of travel were realized when I started to play music professionally. My constant travel buddy, and nuisance, has been a guitar. I have always gotten glaring looks of disapproval from distrusting flight attendants who questioned (still do) whether or not the case would fit in an overhead bin. On commuter flights, I realized my friend would have to ride with the baggage since small planes have little or no on-board stowage space. I make a point to ask them to place the guitar on top of the pile so she won’t get crushed. The airline person usually obliges, and most of the time, follows through on my special request.

Getting on board a larger plane, when the case can fit in an overhead compartment, is a nerve-racking experience for me. I get itchy because I know a newbie flight attendant, pink-cheeked and fresh from training, is going to spot me and thumb through her little rule book only to inform me that I must check the case at the gate. The problem is that the evil baggage loaders on the large planes work under the cover of darkness (as opposed to the commuter–where you can watch them load) and they carelessly toss your precious possession into the hull like a discarded trash bag. My acoustic guitars cost around $2500 a shot…they don’t give a rip.

Like spotting a newbie attendant, it’s easy to spot an old pro. She’s the one smoking a cigarette, with lipstick ajar and hair disheveled, leaning against the galley wall with a “let’s get this over with” look on her face. She’s the one I try to connect glances with. Old Pro knows the book but tossed it out years ago because it was written by goons who have never flown a day in their lives. She usually leads me to a coat closet or to an empty bin where I place my guitar with room to spare. She winks, smacks her chewing gum, and waddles back to watch the newbie do all the work.

My trepidation subsides until I get back on another plane to return home. The sweet thing about my job is that it involves guitars. I have no reason to complain.

The secret to Brenda and I being married for 25 years is directly related to the fact that she is absolutely gorgeous and I have tons of money…No, really, the actual thing that keeps us together, besides God’s grace and Brenda’s patience, is that we accept one another’s quirky habits. I have many, she only has one or two.

The one similar quirk we share relates to time. Hers is general–mine is specific. Brenda loves calendars and I love clocks and wrist watches. Every area in our home where Brenda presides (she allows me to keep an office/studio upstairs), there is an accompanying calender. Some are plain and functional, others are whimsical and full of color and witty statements. She is very organized and likes to have things laid out in order–in advance. I respectfully assume that it’s her way of enjoying a bit of stability and order, quelling unexpected life-interruptions. This doesn’t contradict the fact that she is a woman of faith, though. She’s game when God (and life) throws a curve. She swings and usually knocks the ball out of the park!

My infatuation with time pieces come from a less noble place. They just look cool to me. I like the atomic variety which pick up radio signals from a far-away antennae in Colorado and sets their time automatically at 2 in the morning–right to the exact second. My bedside alarm clock is atomic and has saved me a time or two when I forgot to spring forward or fall back before hitting the pillow. I also love watches because they are one of the only accessories that dudes can get away with collecting and not being considered metro-sexual.

If watches, clocks and calendars are an attempt to bring control into our lives, we haven’t been very successful. Still, life hurls itself upon us and we must trust God for the outcome, not our schemes or plans. It is my duty as a Christ-follower to be a responsible citizen in His kingdom–making good, sound choices for His glory on a daily basis. All things considered, time has been good to us.

Brenda is certainly gorgeous. Me, I am happy to live off the crumbs that fall from her table . She makes me look good and brings great blessing to my life and that of her family and friends. As we turn another calendar page and witness the hand of time reach into another day, month and season, the next 25 years of our quirkiness looks promising. Whatever comes our way, I know the ride is gonna continue to be well planned…and on time.

An old friend from Mobile used to tell me, “Whatever can be shaken, will be shaken.” That which is not fastened down will blow away when the wind gets going . The same is true for our lives–whatever can be tested, will be tested.

As I said in an earlier blog, God is a proponent of resistance training. He uses the ups and downs of life to train us toward godliness. The muscles we build through the life-struggles we all experience create endurance that will help us stay “in the game” longer.

Our pastor started a three-week series Sunday entitled, Unwavering. The scripture that headed the outline was Hebrews 12:26-29:

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

God has constructed a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Therefore, as it’s citizens, we must be a sturdy, stalwart people. There ain’t no weaklings allowed! So, God permits challenges to enter our lives so that we might attain a steadfast spirit (Psalm 51:10). His holy fire burns away the chaff in our lives– the fluff–so that what is left is eternal.

Like you, I hate discomfort. I really need to hit the treadmill tonight before bed so that I can keep on the right track with regard to my health and fitness. I enjoy it when people notice that I have lost weight –35 pounds, to be exact! The result of hard work has become my reward. The results also help me  to keep going. In the same way, God wants us to keep going, even when it seems we can’t take another step. He promises that it will all pay off in the end.

Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Isaiah 35:3-4

Why am in such a hurry? Brenda looks at me often with that “you are out of control” look that only she can give me. I admit it, I don’t like to wait. I know it’s ultimately a spiritual problem. At the least, my impatience is a personal flaw–unfinished business I revisit, and fail to resolve, several times a day.

I get nervous when I drive up to a restaurant and there is a line of people waiting to get in. I hate to get in the car without a contingency plan as to where I am going and how efficiently I can get from point A to B with the least amount of wasted time and miles. As I look at it objectively, my desire to be expeditious seems ridiculous. Who really cares? Others see it as controlling. When I am looking at it through my own eyes, it seems the best way to get things done.

My flaws are glaring. I make no excuses. The Bible touts patience as virtue. Jesus was so patient that, even as insults were hurled at Him, he responded with wisdom. His lack of response was the ultimate proof of His character. Pastor Rick Warren said in a recent Tweet, “…every time you refuse to retaliate at those who make fun of you, and remain silent as Jesus did, you grow in power-Matthew 27:14.”

Maintaining a calm interior, enjoying life at a slower pace, and learning to respond to the world with a patient, Godly love, is something I aspire to attain. Brenda is my hero. She is the greatest teacher of patience I know. She isn’t in a hurry–trusting she’ll get to her destination in due time. As she’s enjoys the ride, I’m wondering if there will be enough parking when we get there…God help me!