Groupon & Judgement

It was that time. Past that time. 

Time to get my haircut.

I have yet to find a favorite stylist. Nor do I know if I want one.

Since living in Chicago my philosophy on getting my hair cut has been to find a nice high-end salon that has: 

1. Hair models 

2. Groupon deals.

Today was my Groupon day.

I called yesterday (because when I finally get around to getting a haircut I want it now!) and found the place.  Fifty-eight percent off a cut and condition with raving reviews on Yelp?  Okay!  Much better than the 67% off with less than pleasant reviews on Yelp. (Hey, just because I'm already doing Groupon doesn't mean I'm not going to shop around a little!)

My salon of the day?  Downtown. You're thinking posh, right? So was I!

I was all excited about what drink options they were going to have available for me!  European coffee? Kerig coffee?  A mimosa?  Chai?

As I was nearing the salon I began to think I'd put in the wrong address, as all I saw was a parking garage.  Alas, there next to the entrance into the parking garage with a neon sign saying "open" in the window, was my destination.  I drove around for parking, put my card in the meter, and walked to the potentially sketch salon. It is my day off but I got all decked out donning my grey heeled boots, big shades, and white sweater with fur around the neck.  I mean, even though I was using Groupon it's fun the look the part, right?

I walked in......

....to find candy cane striped walls, checkered floors, tacky red chairs, less than appealing posters tacked to the wall, and stylists with tribal looking nose rings and colored tats showing wearing sweatshirts much like you'd see college students sporting.  This my friends, it where I was getting my hair done.

You know how when you go to a salon and the stylist's hair looks like some of the worst you've seen? These ladies had great hair!  I breathed a sigh of relief!

And then.....they offered me Folgers coffee.  I breathed a silent sigh of despair and took the bottled water instead.

They had a nice little hook for my purse so it didn't sit on the floor.  What a delight!  It's the little things.

I hung my purse and sat back to look over all the umm...interesting...wall art.  That sealed the deal. I detested this place.  I wanted to run.  I was scared!  This was much worse than the nice salon nestled between a tatoo parlor and a gentleman's emporium.  BUT the stylists had much better hair and that's what I wanted right?

I took a leap and decided to stay. 

I made a comment about the amazing reviews they received on Yelp.  I then found out they've been open since March. Briefly I wondered if the reviews had actually been from real customers. Laughing perhaps a bit uncomfortably, I mentioned how this place was rather unexpected.  Then I made myself shut my mouth!

I sat back contemplating asking the stylist if it'd be too much trouble to move me to the chair across the way.  I didn't want to read and look at the blatant crude wall art.  I kept thinking, "Who owns this place? This is highly unprofessional. Great Clips is less tacky than this!"  (Btw, this Dutch girl will not shy away from going to Great Clips!)

Confession: As my stylist was washing my hair I thought to myself, "I am not going to talk about Christ. I don't want her to know I'm a Christian. Because this place is dreadful and I am definitely going to say just that on Yelp!"

Yep. True thoughts right there.

Her first question? "What do you do?" 

"I'm a nanny."

"What did you do before that?"

Oh shoot. Really!? Really Lord!?

"I worked for an outdoor ministry in Wyoming."

And thus began our conversation. 

Long story short......We go to the same church.

She has an awesome testimony.

Apparently I'm still working on mine.

We talked about identity in Christ and living as Jesus wants us to.

I had a confession to make to her.

"I failed at just that upon walking in here. I made judgment upon judgement with the final kicker being the obscenities on the walls. In the small groups I mentioned on Tuesday and Wednesday nights we've talked just that this week. About having a heaven mindset. Yet the moment I walked in here I was disappointed, unhappy, and judgmental because it wasn't what I expected."

She knowingly nodded in understanding and shared she's had the same struggle.

Talk about a kick-in-the-behind humbling moment! As we continue our lovely conversation there are moments I was reminded of my attitude and struggle to keep it together.  I mean, did I not just talk over and over with both small groups on Tuesday and Wednesday nights about how to live out our daily lives with a Kingdom mindset?

And there I was. 

Here's the thing: I am a nanny living very near downtown Denver. 

This is were I live.

In a bland, square building that is by far the least aesthetically pleasing building around. Don't be fooled though, it has a rooftop deck and the inside, although small, is nice! 

I park in an alley that is down the street from a troubled youth home. Turning into the alley I often have to stop for the teens to realize "Oh a vehicle is shining its lights at me. Maybe I should move."  I found out last month that our long sidewalk to get into the building is a secret meeting place for couples from the youth home.  I found this out by parking back there late one evening and seeing a tall, rough looking teenage boy.  Sitting in my vehicle a bit, I tried to determine if I should leave or go ahead and get out.  Perhaps I made a dumb decision but I got out, ask what he was doing, and he said he was waiting for someone. As I walked away I saw his girlfriend looking behind her as she ran to meet him!

Around the corner from my place is a recovering addicts home.  One night a few months ago my roommate and I were heading home when I saw a man frantically running from the house toward what I thought was a white car parked on the side of the street.  I slowed down because I sensed something was off.  Praise be to God because that man ran out into the street directly in front of my vehicle, tripped on his feet or something, and fell flat on the ground!  Had I been going any faster I would have ran him over!  Two other men were running down, one already on his cell, picked the man up and dragged him to the side of the road.  My roommate and I proceeded to turn the corner, turn into the alley, and go home. But not without some majorly deep breaths and praises to God for keeping us all safe!

I live in a city. A very liberal city at that. 

This is not news. I've lived in cities for close to 8 years now. 

But I'm still a small town, conservative Christian girl who often continues to be hindered by a close-minded mindset.  I don't even realize it's close-minded until I'm slapped in the face like today.    

Upon writing this post I received the prayer requests from group last night. (I am terrible with administrative stuff so wouldn't you know the Lord provided people in the group who rock at it!) At the bottom of the prayer requests? A reminder of our theme for that evening...

Group: 

Having a 'kingdom mindset' each and everyday

Ouch.

A kingdom mindset today would have meant walking into that salon and getting excited!  Getting pumped up!  Instead, I was only reminded of what we'd spoken about last night and the night before after I found out my stylist was a Christian.  What would I have done had that not been the case?

Kingdom mindsets aren't limited to missionaries overseas, pastors, etc. A kingdom mindset isn't limited to being surrounded by a bunch of Christians. A kingdom mindset definitely isn't only sharing our faith and acting out authentically in love when we feel like it. 

A kingdom mindset is living and loving like Christ.  Keeping an eye on the King we follow, eagerly living to tell others about Him and His life-giving gift, and anxiously looking forward to going home to heaven.

Yet too often I fail at each of those.

I get stuck in my life here.

I don't want to make waves or cause potentially uncomfortable conversations.

I get irritated when things aren't the way I think they should be.

I want my cush, Groupon deals that make me feel like I'm living "the good life."

Our Tuesday night women's group just finished a study on Hebrews. This week we read a brief story of a family who really got what "the good life" meant:

In 1996 I spent a night in London with a [family] who were 

leaving a luxurious life in a mansion to go to a dangerous 

area of the Middle East. That night, university students who

 came for a party shared photos of their Christian fathers, mothers, 

sisters, brothers, and cousins who had been murdered for their faith. 

When I asked them about their future, they said "Oh, we live the good life! 

All of us will go back home (to the Middle East) soon, where we'll live 

an even better life - the best life - where we can share the hope of Jesus 

with those who killed our loved ones. We can't wait to get there!" 

- Edna Ellison

For years now I have wanted to live that "best life" overseas as a missionary.  Leaving everything and the possible danger excites rather than scares me.  But today got me thinking.  I wonder, I just wonder, if God may be saying "Until you can truly live that best life right where you are in Denver or anywhere else I have you, you are not ready."

Again, ouch.

So my friends, I challenge myself once more with the question I've brought up in both groups this week:

"How do we live out a kingdom mindset here?"

I dare say that for many of us it isn't so much a how as it is just do.

Here is a short list we came up with:

• BE in the Word daily.                                                                                                            Joshua 1:8
• Worship daily.                                                                                                                         Psalm 68:4-5
• Pray continually.                                                                                                                             1 Thessalonians 5:17
• Grow in intimacy with HIM.                                                                                                  Psalm 63:1-11
• Surround ourselves with friends who have the same heart after God.                              Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
• Fear HIM alone.                                                                                                                 Proverbs 29:25; John 12:
• Ask HIM for help in living in the Light so we may truly be imitators of that Light.            Ephesians 4:17-5:20
• Ask for forgiveness when we fail. His grace abounds!                                                              Acts 3:19

And just so you know, I'm pretty sure I'm going back to that salon!  Because my incredible stylist reminded me, by just being herself, what it means to be a Light in this world.