"Must be nice..."

I'm pretty certain that there is NEVER a time or place for "Must be Nice"....I'm racking my brain here. Maybe...when you think of ridiculous money....like Paris Hilton or some other silly trust fund baby, that just shops and does nothing substantial with her life....whilst you are working your tail off? Maybe then. And EVEN then? You should be aware, that that poor little soul is most likely not going to heaven...simply for how she lives and I've yet to hear her claim that Jesus has her heart. SO...it MAY be nice to have oodles of money...but it's gonna be niceR when we're in HEAVEN eternally.

Now listen...all of this said. Honestly...when was the last time you said the phrase "must be nice...". Can you truly truly say that it wasn't laced with bitterness? Or jealousy? I mean did you really say it out of true LOVE!? Answer? No. It's always said with a jab of the knife to the side. We don't get to be jealous...and we're called to love. I know that we are human.....but boy oh boy do we need to rise above, and edify. Encourage. As hard as that may be....it's back to the green grass situation. I travel for a living. I have the best job in the world. I LOVE what I do. My Christmas card is RIDICULOUS! (And includes a picture of Keifer Sutherland and I on it.) AND...and and and...I love Jesus. I am secure in my position in heaven, He has forgiven my sins...and has sent His son to die for me. I, have it all, in a sense. BUT...I don't. I'm not married...I don't have babies....I don't have a house....I'm nobody's last call, there are LOTS of things that make your grass greener than mine...lots of things that make me want to say..."must be nice"...but in the end...they edify nobody, and really...it IS nice to be me!

I get that we say it in jest...but I challenge you to love what you have jealousy of....and encourage that which you are jealous of, and more importantly to somehow, in love, impart on that person that says "must be nice", that in fact...it is nice, or at least it WAS nice, until they ruined it. We shouldn't feel guilty for having things others don't....we should share, we should feel blessed, and we should be sure that WE are not being jealous of things that OTHERS have that we don't. We are all ALL blessed in different ways. I preach "love anyway"....I mean it. I preach the part where GREEN GRASS...still has to be mowed! So now, I challenge you to take the phrase..."must be nice", and change it into real excitement, and happiness and say "AWESOME! I am SO JEALOUS of that right now!" And more so-I challenge you to mean it!!!!!

No more "must be nice". I won't be offended if I hear it, but I will challenge you to lace it in love! Love more, speak less, judge not.

Happy New Year friends! I'll be in LA "working" and going to the Rose Parade...and yes...it WILL be nice!

:-)

PS...inspired by a dear friend that I love completely. This blog is based on the conversation that we had, and she said "must be nice" to me as I left. We laughed at it, and it may have been...the only appropriate time, for the phrase to be used! Ha...there, found ONE! So my dear friend...please know....I like your green grass...though it isn't green at all when it comes to some things. And I am more than blessed to have you in my life, and will forever be praying for you and yours. I also promise to never say, nor think, "must be nice" in your general direction! Love you dearly! And may loving those that think that it really "must be nice"...just come easy!