...get carey-ed away: ...do you smell?

...while at the grocery store the cutest OLD man, had to be in his 80's, taps me on the shoulder & says, "miss, i just have to tell you, the perfume you're wearing...it reminds me of my wife that i lost years ago." his eyes were full of tears, which in turn meant mine were & instead of being offended that i had just been told that i smelled like an old lady...i smiled back & said, "i'm sure she was a special lady".

have you ever known someone that has a scent? i'm not talking about body odor...i'm talking about a signature scent. it's the way they always smell. my Grammy smells like Grammy, which is actually Estee Lauder, Youth Dew, the coffee colored perfume that comes in a curvy glass bottle with a tiny gold ribbon. her scent lingers. when she holds a baby and then hands them back to you, it's inevitable that the baby has gone from Johnson & Johnson to Estee Lauder. my old roommate Lauretta was Lancome Tresor...that was her signature scent 10 years ago and i'm almost certain it's still that today. i smell her every time i walk past the Lancome counter at the local department store. i vividly remember the scent of a woman that i used to do some work for. i'm not sure what it was, but her scent was a perfume that "smelled like money". she smelled rich and she was. and then of course there were the days when i was 13 and deeply inhaled the aroma of the men's cologne sample in Seventeen magazine...only dreaming of having a boyfriend or even better a husband someday that would...breath in deep...smell of Preferred Stock. don't laugh you know you did it too.

a few years ago i decided i wanted a signature scent. i wanted to pick a perfume that i loved, that i could stick with, a smell that would be me, my signature left on the world as i waltzed by. a smell that my future children would always know as their mom, that trace of scent that was left on my pillow reminding my husband i was his. i like when you can smell someone. although too much of anything can be bad. we've all been in the elevator with the person that marinates in their signature scent and of course for some any fragrance can detonate a headache, trigger an itchy throat or initiate nausea. so as far as your signature scent goes don't overdo it...or don't do it at all.

whether or not you have a favorite perfume is irrelevant. but did you know that your life has an aroma?

2 Corinthians 2:15 says, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. to the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life."

our lives should give off the aroma of love, kindness, acceptance, and generosity. we should "smell" different to the world, not because of the fragrance that lingers on our skin, but because we have bathed in the glory of the Holy Spirit. we are encouraged, we are loved and we have a heavenly perspective...all "smells" that lift the spirits of those around us. but just as a fragrance can fade without reapplying daily, so can the aroma of our hearts fade. it first becomes faint...then can all but disappears- so DAILY soaking is required. that's why we must pray. that's why we must pour the truth of God's word into our hearts so the signature scent of his love lingers and literally rubs off on those around us. you don't need to overdo it. there's no need to be obnoxious, our lives should challenge and change the world, not chase it away--or cause a headache :) most importantly we must worship Him because that is our fragrant offering back to Him for the anointing He offers to pour over our lives. (i've attached a playlist of some of my fave worship tunes)

1 john 2:20 say, " i have been anointed by the Holy one, and i know the truth."

the word anoint means " a rubbing"...so we must be close to the Father, so His love and truth can envelope you just like the Estee Lauder Youth Dew swaddles the baby that was held in Grammy's arms. So what's your signature scent? do you smell...i sure hope so :)