Are your emotional tires wearing thin?

My car is out of alignment, which apparently caused my tires to wear out and need to be replaced.
(Oh goody!)

And so it is with us, if we are out of alignment...
(out of balance),
we will eventually wear out.

Just like the car will pull in a certain direction...
when we are out of balance,
we may tend to pull in a certain direction automatically.

Whether we are too focused on work,
and then we naturally gravitate towards all things 'work'...
and our life continues to lean that way.
Almost has a magnetic pull that we 'think' we have no control of.

Or maybe if we're too focused on 'self',
our life begins to lean in that direction.
Our mantra becomes Me, Myself, and I.

Meanwhile other parts of our life end up getting neglected.
Whether the result is bald spots on your tires...
or worse yet, bald spots on your head from the stress of it all :-O
your car (and you) need a tune up.

Being out of alignment...whether it be your car, your spine, or your life...
has it's consequences.  It affects everything.  Try throwing your back out,
and now your neck hurts and you have a throbbing headache.  It's not
just an isolated issue, it impacts everything around it.

It's back to the old 'Symptom and Cause' thing.
The symptom was the tires wearing thin,
the cause was the car was out of alignment.

The symptom is that you are wearing thin,
the cause could be that you are out of balance.

Yea, we could ignore the cause and just keep replacing tires and
taking stress relievers to numb the feeling...
but maybe it's time to diagnose how it all began and where it stemmed from.

So schedule the appointment...with your mechanic and with yourself.
You could be headed for a crash and burn if you're not careful.

"For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace." - 1 Corinthians 14:32
(He desires that we have balance in our personal lives.)

Don't be puttin' band aids on the 'symptom'

It's a funny thing, isn't it? 
The things at our disposal,
we walk on by.
Hardly noticing,
seldom appreciating.

But have it break down for 1 day?
And suddenly it's got your attention.

Whether it's something like my toilet which just broke down and is
suddenly out of commission -
or maybe for you it could be a relationship that broke down,
and now suddenly you take notice.

You start investigating it a little closer...
get 2nd opinions.
Do your own research.
Try and evcaluate the source of the leak.

Was it a slow leak that didn't set off the alarm in your head because it was subtle?

Was it under the carpet so it was carefully covered up, not a sign of mold in sight?

Well, over time the erosion tends to come to the surface and eventually  a major waterline may burst wide open flooding different rooms in your life.

Patch up the leak -
deal with it 911!
But then don't forget to go back and find the root of the problem.
Don't just put a band aid on the 'symptom'...
fix the 'source'.

Do you have a sunburn faith?

Was just moved to tears over a friends daughter, who wrote a blog post she was 'considering' posting, but wondered if it would be offensive. 

A young girl in her 20's...
with conviction, no less.
That never gets old.

Her frustration with the state of the church...the ones led astray.
The ones looking for that 'high' in place of the relationship.

'Relationship' implies highs and lows.
Ebs and flows.

If you're depending on that buzz...
then when it's not there,
you'll be heading for the hills during your next crisis.

Just like your relationship with your friend or spouse,
what happens when you're just not 'feelin' it on any given day?

A genuine faith is especially evident when there's no signs of joy inducing circumstances going on around you. 

It's an internal steadiness when the world around you is crumbling.
It's when you're in so deep that you can't see the surface.
When the bills are piled so high, it's hard to see past them.
But you keep working.
And trusting.

Our culture is unfortunately addicted to feeling good. (and to convenience)
Instant gratification.
Microwave faith.
Drive thru grace. (with a side order of peace)
Not a lot of talk about discipline and commitment and long suffering.

It's like getting a good tan...
it's gradual.
Consistent.
A little bit at a time.

If you try and do it in one day...
it just ends up peeling off anyway.

Invest time in your relationship with God...
so it doesn't just peel off like a bad sunburn (cuz you tried to rush it.)

Do you need to feed your 'Faith' too?

My dog Faith has been feeling sick the past few days.  I found her hiding under the desk in my kitchen and under my bed.  Apparently that's normal for dogs to hide when they're not doing too well.

How about your Faith?

Do you find that you like to hide out when it's not doing too well?
Isolate?
I guess we don't naturally gravitate towards people when we're bummed.
We may not go as far as crawling under the bed...but maybe under the covers! (Hoping the feeling will pass.)

I finally coaxed her into eating her food. (Although I did have to camoflauge the healthy food with a little chicken patty and BBQ sauce mixed in!)

She did finally eat. (even though she tried to pick through the healthy food to snarf down the tasty!)

I know when I finally get some spiritual food in me, I eventually start to feel better.  I don't always recognize it as hunger.

Sometimes we get weak when we haven't been eating regularly.
(Physically AND spiritually speaking.)

Just as our insulin levels can spike high and then drop low...
our faith can do the same.

So do yourself a favor...
go
eat.

'No' is a complete sentence!

Jack Canfield says that we must learn to say no to the good so we can say yes to the great.

'No' is a complete sentence, I've been told.

When you focus on what God has gifted you to do, and invest in those types of endeavors, then you become productive rather than just busy!

Mind you, I'm not implying you "JUST SAY NO"... to doing the mundane... like dishes.
("Uhhh, yea...that's just not my gift!" may not cut it over in your house.)

If you're an artist, you need to create with your hands.
If you're a writer, create with your words.

Thank God Mozart composed music, rather than himself.
And Hemingway used his pen as a tool,
while Steve Jobs used Powerpoint as his.

We all have a function, like different parts of the body.

Romans 12:4-6
"In this way we are like the various parts of a human body.  Each part gets ts meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around.  The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people.  Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. 

But as a chopped off finger or cut off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we?

So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, lets just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't."

How can you focus on being the best you?
An original.
Not a carbon copy.

A Mother's Day Tribute to my Mom

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/05/the-one-thousand-moms-project-make-a-mothers-day-difference/

If you thank your Mom publicly on your own Blog, the above link will explain in detail about 'The 1000 Moms Project'.  It's about 1000 people standing up and thanking their mom publicly and they will match your honoring of mothers by funding a Maternity/Child Survival Program in Haiti for a whole YEAR!

So here goes Mom...

You gave me room.
Room to flourish...
room to fail.

You didn't hover.  That gave me space to develop 'me'.  And you didn't force me to be 'you'. 

You didn't do my homework for me, and didn't complete my projects like most parents these days...(that are afraid their kids 'failure' might be a poor reflection of 'them'.)  And amazingly I got A's...on my own. 

Oh how you could teach so many mom's that THAT'S how you build your kids confidence, in allowing THEM  to do it.  What good is an A to a kid who knows it's not theirs? (Other than how good the 'My Child is an Honor Student' looks on the back of THEIR mini van. ;)

You instilled in me a love of God's word.
Priceless.
I can still see you reading at the corner of the couch...without fail.

You never seemed to get caught up in the hectic pace of life.  You invested in us kids.  You were less about 'doing' and more on who you were 'being'.
(and still to this day.)

You literally just texted me while preparing this for you.  How timely.
It said, "Marinate in the presence of God - it makes you tender!  Love you."

You always check in.
You send the most sentimental gifts.
You're generous to me and continue to sacrifice your own comfort to allow for mine. 

I'm remembering just recently where you mailed out a cooler with freezer paks so you could send me the original "Hoffman's" hotdogs all the way from N.Y. reminding me of the many years we went to that Restaurant growing up.  Nothin' beats that N.Y. Coney Dog!

I've benefitted from your wisdom, and pass that torch to my kids.

Love how you still try to keep all us kids connected.  You text me to pray for Tom when he's on a flight...and pray for Jeff when he's at the hospital with Robbie.  

I'm sad for those who don't have a Mom like you.
Whether they've died...physically.
Or died in their mind.  
I value having you in my life.  You may be across the Country,
but you are close to my heart. 

I love you Mom!

(Oh, and P.S.  I swear I'm not bitter about how much more you spoil your dog Buddy than you ever did me! Just sayin'! )

'Regular' appointments help straighten you out

My daughter Moriah has braces, and the other day she went on her regular 6 week check up where they tighten her wires. 
With that...
comes pain.
But that is what straightens her teeth.

The same with our life, if you want to 'straighten' your life out...
it involves some pain in the process.

But if Moriah chose to skip her appointments, her teeth would go back
to being crooked.  They naturally tend to go back that way.
(and so do we, by the way.)

Proverbs 26:11 says, "Like a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."

Have you been 'skipping' your appointments lately?
Let God 'tighten' up those things in your life that will help straighten you out.

I GET to be here and do THIS!

"I think of it only a couple hundred times a year, that single wide-eyed night by the bed of one of our sons in the pediatric wing of a city hospital.  The moaning of babes, the crying of sick children, the murmur of nurses with grim prognoses on lips and morphine in hand, these haunted through the endless hours.  I did not sleep, the pain of that place begging me to pray.  After our son was given the thumbs-up and the signature of release, I came home to bedrooms and bathrooms and kitchen and fridge and windows and unmerited, luxurious health and I threw up my arms in giddy gratitude.  Here?  This place?  Surprise!  I was a woman who saw what her life could well have been, a woman who didn't live by a deathbed or in a refugee camp or a war zone or the rubble of an earthquake.  I laughed at the surprise of dishes in my sink and the wild surprise of turning on the stove to boil water and I swished toilet and I was healthy and I got to be here and do this!  And things but forty-eight hours prior I entirely took for granted --even rather half resented as flawed and less than -- I spun around:  All surprising grace!  And there has not been a single night the nearly ten years since, that my son and I haven't whispered in bedside prayers for those who cry out in the dark, for we witnessed and we remember and we will always carry...

Is it only when our lives are emptied that we're surprised by how truly full our lives were?" -Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

I had wrestled between household chores or reading outside for a bit.  Glad I chose to pause and read, for now I have a better perspective on the ordinary. (or the extraordinary, depending on how ya look at it!)

Would you put up with 'momentary' to avoid 'ongoing'?

My daughter has been having some major stomach issues.
Took her to Urgent Care and she was put on prescription meds
(which are hard to swallow),
so I decided to crush it up with sugar to help it go down easier.

She fought me a bit on drinking all the water it required too.
So I proceeded to go into 'teacher' mode, and appealed to her
that if she puts up with the 'momentary' pain of taking the yucky
medicine, she then doesn't have to put up with the 'ongoing' pain of her illness.

Isn't that indicative of life in general?

It could be putting up with the 'momentary' pain of working out,
therefore forfeiting the 'long term' pain of being unhealthy and
out of shape.

Maybe it's the 'temporary' pain of studying hard,
to avoid the 'endless' pain in struggling to pay your bills.

Some pain we get to choose.

So many of us just don't want to be uncomfortable on the front end,
not realizing that if we aren't,  we'll end up very uncomfortable
on the back end!

As far as my daughter taking her meds all crushed up with sugar
to make it go down easier...
we too can do that for the people in our life.  When we want to give them 'helpful' information that's good for them...
sweeten it up a bit to help it go down easy.  Nobody likes chomping on a chalky bitter pill-
no matter HOW good it is for you!

Hebrews 12:11
"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Proverbs 25:11
"A word rightly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

What happened to the time?

Time.
We've all been given the same amount each day.
No one gets to hoard it...and save it for tomorrow.
Can't stockpile it.
We're all at the starting block together.

Time is a funny thing, yet something you want to curse.
The time wasted.  Doing nothing.
Or worse, the time poorly spent.  Regret.
Those are the times you're glad, "Time flies."
Yet it won't.
It lingers.
Yet those sweet moments fast forward too quickly.
Kids grow like weeds.
They graduate.
And off they go.

It's comical that when you're young, you round up, "I'm 5 1/2!"...
but when you're old(er)...you round down, "I...um...I'm 50...ish."
We want to speed it up in our early years,
get it all done - fast!
Become a teen, drive, graduate, move out.
Yet in our later years we want to slow down the crazy pace.
Let. It. Simmer.
Marinate.

Try and grip it with your hands and it slips through your fingers.
Try and stop it and it mows you down like a freight train.

That quiet, steady ticking you hear in the background?
That's YOUR time.
A reminder of life passing.
Or life being lived.

Are you living it well?

Who are you anyway?

Don't have your identity so wrapped up in what you 'Do'.
What if you suddenly can't 'Do' it anymore?
Is your identity suddenly lost?

Base your identity in the One who never changes...
never lays you off...
isn't affected by market changes...
won't fire you!

Then you'll be stable in who you are regardless of what's going
on around you.

If you're a Mom...be a great Mom!
But don't become so entrenched in your kids to the point where when they leave you...
you don't know who YOU are anymore.

How invisible are you?

Well if you haven't read this already...I highly urge you to "get on it!" ;O)
I've read it several times before, but today decided to do it in one sitting.
It's a quick read for you busy people (which is most of us).

And for you men out there, I wouldn't let the title scare you off.
Whether you read it to understand your other half a bit more...
or sympathize with the mom who raised you. ..it's worth the time.

But I suspect a lot of men feel quite invisible on any given day.
Buried in bills...
working long hours...
hibernating in their offices.

My hubby refers to himself at times as, "Couple of bucks, Dad."
How many countless times over the years has one of our 4 come up to him with puppy dog eyes, "Can I have a couple of bucks Dad?"

We, as Moms or Dads, husbands or wives...can somehow feel not much more than an ATM, a cab driver, a housekeeper.
A 'service' of some sort.
A nameless, faceless person who performs certain 'functions'.

Or as Nicole Johnson says in her book, "Mostly I'm just Mom or Honey, the butter lady or the driver.  Sometimes I'm 'Would you mind?' or 'Whenever
you get a minute...'   I also go by 'While you're up' or 'Since you're going out anyway."

As much as all of us can feel slighted and taken for granted in all that we do...Nicole states in her book, "Somewhere along the way, I managed to
make God invisible in my life, placing him in the same position my family had put me.  I didn't see what God was doing, so I treated him as if he wasn't there.  I had it in my mind that God was just supposed to answer my prayers (the butter God?) and then move out of they way and disappear.  You would think that after knowing how if feels to be invisible I would know better than to trust only what I see.  I'm pretty sure that makes me an invisible hypocrite."

Ouch!
Sadly true.

She compares our work to the invisible builders of the great cathedrals of Europe, many of them were nameless.  Some of them took over 100 years to build and she said, "Many builders devoted their whole lives to a work they would never see finished."

We as parents many never see our work finished. 
How our parenting has influenced our kids for the long haul. 
The decisions they make 'down the road' based on what they are learning from us 'today'.

In ending, she says, "I'm fully convinced that invisibility is love's most beautiful costume, given only to its choicest of servants when they are really serious about serving."

Her prayer:  "Make me more invisible.  Strengthen my heart to do the things that no one sees or appreciates, and to do them as unto you.  And if history never knows my name, may I have helped it know yours a little better.  Allow me to be invisible, that the world might see you."

Have you seen invisibility as a positive or a negative thing?

Show off!

Was just hanging out with my daughters in the back yard, and noticed 2 lizards.  So apparently the male does push-ups to impress the female, so he can mate with her.  (My youngest informed me of this...she's 12!!)  This is my 6th grader who also just announced to me that next year in school she has to see 'The Movie'.  You know the one. 

So back to the lizards...I googled it just to back up her story.
(Yes, of COURSE I believed her!)
'They' said (cuz you know we all care about what 'they' have to say)...
that it's a 'look at me' technique.
They do it to get their fellow lizards to turn their heads. 
They work out for the same reason the guy at the gym might,
as a display of strength.
It shows they are not to be messed with!  (Show off!)

So often we're just the same.
Flexing our muscles...
whether it be our bi-ceps,
or our talents.
We display them to insure we are 'not to be messed with.'
We're capable.
We're strong.
We can handle things.

Funny little creatures!

Are you just blah blah-ing, or really listening?

Who's the greatest listener that you know?
You know...the one who 'really' hears you.
Not just the quiet one.
The one who 'gets' you.

Oh, and not the one dying for you to finish up your sentence so they can get back to more important matters...
them.

I have to say, it seems over my lifetime(I know, that's allotta years!)
...it's much easier to remember the great communicators.
The ones who don't leave out a detail...(yes, they had ketchup on their hamburger!)

Trust me, I love my fun, verbal, very expressive Type A friends...
they keep me laughing AND entertained.
(Life would be stale and boring without 'em!)

But there's something priceless about that friend who remembers your conversation from weeks ago...
and asks about it.
They heard me.
They remembered.
They inquired.

My mom's a friend like that to me.
She even asks about appointments I forgot I had.

I aim to be THAT kinda friend...
that kind of wife.
That mom.

What a perfect example we've all been given.
(despite whether we got it from our earthly mother or father)
Our heavenly Father.
The Master question asker.
He didn't just simply answer questions.
He questioned their questions.
He wanted to know them.
And He wants to know you!

Isn't it nice to be known like THAT?

Even grown adults need a 'Time Out'!

Not sure if you're anything like me...
but if I am to be of any use to those around me,

(AND be nice about it)...

I simply need to go off and spend time with God.

Away from the distractions.
The noise.
The noise that so often tries to drown You out.
The noise competing for my affection.
Wooing me.
Calling me to 'Pay attention!'
The immediate stuff.
The texts.
The calls.
The mounds of things on my 'To Do List'.
(Does it even qualify as just a 'list' anymore?)
It's endless.
Overwhelming.
Never made to feel on top of.
The black hole filled with responsibility.

Then. There's. You.

The peace in the center of chaos.

The calm in the storm.

The mini getaway.

That deep breath.

My much needed 'Time Out'!
(Not quite sure why small children see this as a punishment.)

My anchor.

Today, have you snuck away yet...
from the kids, from the bills,  from pinterest(oh...that hurts!)
just to realign your compass?

What are you believing?

So I had a dream just recently that I finished writing my Book.
So, of course, what do you think I did?
Posted the dream on Facebook. (I know, shocking!)
After mentioning that I had the dream, I followed with the question,
"Could it be a sign?"
And a News Anchorwoman from CNN replied with a resounding,
"YES!  It's called a precognitive dream!"

Now I haven't done my research, so I don't quite know if I believe or even understand precognitive dreams, but here's what I do believe.
I believe that her confident, immediate response  injected a dose of 'belief' into me.
It was as if the book was already done in my mind!
Complete!
Ready for publishing!

Like the saying goes:
 "She believed she could...
so she did!"

Imagine if God came down and told you (yes you...the one reading this)
that you could...(fill in the blank).
At that point it wouldn't be a matter of 'IF'...
but rather a matter of 'WHEN'.

So I gathered up the courage (based on this infusion of belief),
and headed off to Malibu, with my Book in hand.
I put it in the hands of a Book Publisher.
Her response to my writing was just what I needed.
An unbiased opinion, telling me that I have a talent and I must use it!
I never wanted to be like that kid on American Idol, who grew up thinking he could sing cuz his mommy said so...
yet Simon told him he was bloody dreadful!
(So needless to say, I was relieved Simon wasn't the Book Publisher!)
Phew!

When she told me I was better than Erma Bombeck, my natural default was to think, "Oh, she's just being polite."
She then proceeded to tell me how her own friend wrote a book for her to review, and she boldly informed her that it wasn't good enough.
This was in her attempt to convince me that she wasn't just giving me lip service.  She had nothing to lose by being brutally honest with me,
and yet she continued to tell me how clever my writing was.

Please don't misinterpret this as me patting myself on the back,
there's nothing more annoying...
but God has gifted each and every one of you.  And if the enemy(or ourselves) can convince us otherwise, then we bury that talent.
We're like Gideon when God calls out to him, hiding in the wine press, "Oh mighty man of valor!"  Gideon's looking around timidly like, "Who me?"

Just a side note...
I prayed on my way to this meeting that I would see a movie star on that particular day.  Someone famous.  Not that I'm obsessed with celebrities...
it just came to me.
I thought, "Lord...this is not too big for you.  Just a simple request.  You could do it in a heartbeat.  It will just be that encouragement that reminds me that you can do all things.  And showing me this is a sign
that you also can help me write this Book.  Because ultimately, it's You who will be speaking through me.

So me and the Book Publisher decide to take a 10 mile hike in Malibu, and who do we see heading on to the trail that we just came off of? 
Owen Wilson.
We even had a brief exchange as her dogs chased after his 2 dogs.
She yelled, "They're not dangerous!"
And I piped up, "Yeah, they'll just lick you to death!"
He looked me right in the eye as he laughed heartily.
I almost missed it!
It was a wink from God.
Under his baseball cap, I almost didn't recognize him.
How often we may not recognize God in many of our situations.
They sometimes come in disguise.
The 'ball cap' can throw us off, because it looks a little different than we expected. 

I was actually a bit embarrassed by my prayer, and wasn't quick to
openly admit it.  In case you'd mistake me for being 'shallow'.
Someone who secretly carries a Star Map in her purse.
Or the latest National Enquirer. (enquiring minds need to know!;)
(I confess, I do record E News on occassion.)
Just sayin'.

So imagine with me for a minute...
what could YOU do in this brief time here on earth...
if you just believed?

Flying through life

Ya ever have one of those days...where you're flying through life,
full speed ahead,
not knowing which way is up?
Everything seems to be in Fast Forward?
(Ya...me too!)
Where is that pause button anyway?

Oh, by the way, that's my 11 year old Sierrah...
she usually has one speed-
fast.

Nothing wrong with getting a lot done, and being effective,
and havin' a little drive, and walking fast...
but do you slow down...
pause,
breathe?
Or just frantically race, breathless, with a to do list in hand?

I've always heard, "Begin with the end in mind."
Stop and think about why you are here.
What is your purpose?
Just to scramble?
Carpool?
Run errands?
And then call it a day?

I just don't wanna have regret...
standing before the God who made me with certain gifts and talents,
and tell Him, "Uh, sorry God, I didn't really think you could use little 'ol pathetic me.  Didn't feel qualified."
That's NOT a conversation I wanna have.

If you don't know your purpose, I would recommend the book "The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I here for" by Rick Warren.  It may just help take the blinders off that we tend to wear when running on our own little hampster wheels of life.

To entice you to read it, here's a few quotes from Rick:

"Being successful and fulfilling your lifes purpose are not at all the same thing;  You can reach all your personal goals, become a raving success by the worlds standard and STILL miss your purpose in this life."

"You weren't put on earth to be remembered.
You were put here to prepare for eternity."

"We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be!  Earth is not our final home;  we were created for something much better."

What could you do if you trusted God a little bit more?

Unchanging

This picture always makes me laugh!  It was at Grandpa's house and they were 'pretending' to be asleep. (Hardly obvious ;) As much as I love my lil munchkins all grown up, I miss the fact that they won't be this small...
ever...
again!

I love change,
and I hate change all at the same time.
(I'm a woman, what do you expect?  I have the perogative of not being able to make up my mind;)
Some call it Schitzo!  
(I prefer to call it not being predictable and boring.)

With change comes insecurity.
What will the future hold?
How will my kids end up?
How will I afford these insane gas prices?

Then God shows up on the scene.
The one thing in my life that is unchanging.
Consistent.
Not moody.
Never fickle.
Steady.
Sure.

How grateful I am for Him.

When all else around me is chaotic, and up in the air...
He.is.not.
When people don't keep their word...
He.does.
When the stock market is all over the place...
He.is.steady. 

Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."

Aren't you relieved like me, that no matter what happens, God will stay the same? 

Don't go it alone!

The verse above, (which I now recognize can only be seen with a very large magnifying glass ;-/ is Proverbs 18:24, "Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family."

It's tougher to foster great friendships as you get older, and have families, and a ton of responsibilities.  Yet,

they...

are...

vital!

It was easier at age 15 like my Moriah, when I didn't have to carpool, help with homework, slave over hot meals (ok, well maybe I'm not actually 'slaaaaaving' in that department lately), since I'm doing the Protein Shake thang, but you get the gist.  Minutes, turn to hours, turn to a day gone by... and before you know it, lights are out.

Be intentional.  Be selective.  You become like who you surround yourself with.  I value spending time with like minded people.  And if I am gonna take time away from my family, and I'm called to be a good steward of my 'time'...then I need to be wise in where I want to invest my time (and in who I invest it in.)

Ok, so this was my original topic I wanted to write about today, but when I turned on my laptop, it wouldn't start.

I panicked.

 And if you know me well, I don't panic easily.

But I panicked nonetheless.(I confess!)

I may have even broken a sweat.

So I did what any sane christian woman would do.

I laid hands on it, (yup, I resorted to that 'ol desperation prayer..."Lord, HELP!!!)  Fiddled with the power button.  Kept pressing that poor old enter button as my mind was racing, thinking how much I couldn't "afford" this right now, and as I began texting my tech guy...silly me noticed I hadn't plugged it in.  (Please tell me you've done this.)  Don't leave me up here alone!  I of course laughed at myself and thought...how often we do this.

  WE DON'T PLUG IN!!!

Not only do we not plug in to friendships, and connecting well...but we don't plug in to our major power source, the God of the Universe.  The all powerful.  Would we leave our phone off the charger and be crazy enough to think it would have power? Yet our spiritual batteries are drained because we don't recharge.  And then we scratch our head and wonder why we feel defeated, depleted, and depressed.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of POWER [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart."

So tell me again why I wouldn't want to have that kind of power?

Beware if all men speak well of you

It actually seems to be the aim of many...the approval of others.  A good day is defined as when there is no conflict.
Smooth waters.  
No waves.
I mean who wants to make waves?
Why rock the boat?

Luke 6:26 says there's trouble ahead when we live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them.  God calls us to be true, not popular.  

But how messy.  So much easier to be agreeable...
nodding,
smiling.

But what a gift to have those people in your life who risk hurting your feelings for your greater good.  Not spoonfeeding you Dessert that goes down easy...
but giving you that mushy spinach that gives you that gag reflex.  
Yet it's good for you.
Brings health to your soul.  
Grace and Truth together, the perfect partners.   

I'm thankful for those people in my life that have different opinions than me, who challenge me to step up higher.
Who love me enough to say so. 

Yup...the 'P' word

Pride.
Really?
Why do we think we are "all that?"
So proud.
Pride goeth before the fall.
Do we ever really plan for that infamous "fall"?
Yet we are.
Prideful.
Never thinking we would ever fall for that trick...we're much smarter than that.
Pride.
Yup.
We fall.
We bite.
We went for that "dangling carrot".
How could we?
We were ever soooo much smarter...stronger...wiser.  Yet,
we fell...hard.
"Beware yest ye fall!"
Such wise words.
God knew.
Easy for us to judge...thinking,"oh, I could never!!!"
Yet...
we did.
We do.
Fall.
Hard.
Devastatingly hard.
Just know...
"but for the grace of God...
there go I."

What my sunglasses taught me today

So I put on a new pair of glasses today and...
WOW! 
Did things look gooooood!  Amazing, in fact.  I looked around and dull colors suddenly appeared bright.  Things that usually blend in were popping out as in 3D.  All because of a new pair of glasses.  Really?  Eyewear?  Who knew it had such power?

Not sure about you, but there are times...(days, months, years even) where we need to get a 'New set of glasses'.
Brighter outlook.
New perspective.
Perspective really is reality...in our heads. 
We tend to see things a 'certain way', and even if it isn't true, it may as well be, because we are living our life as if it is fact! 

What lens are you looking through?  Is it dark,
dreary, with fingerprint smudges all over it, therefore blocking your view?  

I know that we can go to the extreme and be an 'idealist' and as a result always end up disappointed.  People never seem to measure up.  Things never seem to go our way.
But what if we just 'chose' to see things better that normally didn't look so great.

Now of course I had to do some research (for those of you who tend to have more of a pessimistic nature ;-)
and according to a study performed by Science Daily in 2009, the more upbeat and positive people are, the more they perceive around them.

The best way for me to see things better is to be in God's Word.  There is no better word.  It shapes the way I see things, as awful as they can look at times.
The messy suddenly looks more organized.
The unbearable suddenly becomes manageable.
The impossible becomes oh so possible.

So I therefore give all of you permission to go shopping...
for a new set of glasses.

A sprinkled donut solves most things!

God I love this girl!

This was many years ago, and it brings me back in a heartbeat.  Amazing how a video can capture a moment in time.  In a few short hours we will all be flipping the calendar page...and on we stride into the New Year. (or possibly limp.)

 New videos.  New moments.  New heartaches.  New realities.

But remember my sweet girls verse...

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he

shall direct your paths."

And when all else fails...go get yourself a sprinkled donut! ;o)

Shuffling through life

So back by popular demand...some of you requested seeing Sierrah do her "shuffling" dance in brighter light.  We threw it together on the way out the door, so if she doesn't look thrilled...that explains it.  She was distracted by the upcoming movie she was about to see. (I'm such a mom...making excuses for my daughter's less than stellar attitude ;)

Some of us shuffle through life the same way...with the same attitude.  (except without all the great background music.)  Imagine having a theme song with every non exciting moment we happen to be experiencing.  Would make it way more dramatic and do-able, huh?  

So yes, I googled 'shuffle' just out of curiosity...and one of the definitions said:  'to keep moving your feet because you are nervous, embarrassed, or bored.'  Hmmm...sound familiar?  Shuffling along, with no real purpose. Day in.  Day out.  No direction.  No plan.

Shuffling.

God has a 'specific' plan for you...just you.  This year invest in finding out what.  It will be time well spent.  In the meantime... enjoy my daughter shuffling as a reminder.

Normal, ordinary, everydayness

So I'm sitting here after all of the Holiday Hooplah...and things seem to be shifting back to 'Normal'...dare I say it?
Why is it we tend to cringe when we hear that dreaded word. Has the T.V. programmed us to be superstars, so that anything resembling normal represents 'boring'. (You underachievers, you! ;)

Lets consider how our Savior entered this world.  No red carpet treatment.  No room at the Inn.  No fanfare, no fuss.

My son Carter bought me a book for Christmas called, "God's Story / your story" ... and as Max Lucado says, 'It drips with normalcy.'  "The couple doesn't caravan into Bethlehem with camels, servants, purple banners, and dancers.  Mary and Joseph have no tax exemption or political connection.  They have the clout of a migrant worker and the net worth of a minimum wage earner. 

Not subjects for a PBS documentary.
Not candidates for welfare either. 
They are, well, normal.  Normal has calluses like Joseph, stretch marks like Mary.  Normal stays up late with laundry
and wakes up early for work.  Normal drives the car pool wearing a bathrobe and slippers.  Normal is Norm and Norma, not Prince and Princess.

But then comes the Christmas story -- Norm and Norma from Normal, Ohio, plodding into ho-hum Bethlehem in the middle of the night.  No one notices them.  Trumpets don't blast; bells don't sound; angels don't toss confetti.  Aren't you glad they didn't?

What if Joseph and Mary had shown up in furs with a chauffeur, bling-blinged and high-muckety-mucked?  And what if God had decked out Bethlehem like Hollywood on Oscar night?

But they didn't.

Isn't that what you indwell?  Not a holiday world.  Or a red-letter-day world.  No, you live an everyday life.  You have bills to pay, beds to make, and grass to cut.  Congratulations.  You qualify for a modern-day Christmas
story.  God enters the world through folks like you and comes on days like today."

The giver is more blessed than the receiver

Our family has been 'priviledged' enough to have experienced difficult financial struggles due to the economic times and the nature of my husband's Business.  So we know what it means to get down to the wire and wonder how we're gonna make it through...
You've heard, "Do the math."  Well we did...and it just didn't add up.

But God.

Always loved those 2 words.  Kev's Dad said them often.  When he died, those 2 words lived on as a legacy he left behind to all of us.  He lived it.
He believed it.  I trust it. When you add God to the equation, it doesn't need to add up.  Won't always make sense.  Typically appears unreasonable.

But God. 

He is the Master Mathematician.  Usually, if you multiply '0' x any other number = 0...not with Him.  He can take your '0' and turn nothing into something, He's not limited by a math principle.

Thanks to all of you who made donations in this 2 Day quickie campaign, (about 35 of you).  I have been so blessed by your response.  (Even after the deadline some came through!)  Late last night in Walmart I hear my friend Niki yelling my name across the store from the register that she needed to talk to me.  She was having a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party and kids were bringing wrapped toys and she asked if she could have them donated to our cause.  They are being delivered tonight by my friend Lora Hill's mom...and she is taking them to a single mom who's mother helped her out 20 years ago when they couldn't afford a Christmas! Love it!  

Here's a quick recap and a thanks to all of you!

Donate Hope

Here's my hubby explaining a quick challenge we received from our Church (isn't he cute? ;)
    

                                                                                                                               

Be Present

As that time approaches of handing out presents...it serves as a reminder for me to 'be present'.  I love how
God refers to Himself as 'I am'.  Not 'I was' or 'I might be'.

I am right now.  Here.  In this moment.  Not regretting my past, not contemplating my scary future.  Settled here in this comfortable, cozy place called now.  Embracing the unsureties, yet not dwelling.  What could be...should be...or worst yet, what could have been?  If only...

The enemy wants to steal my today.  Kill my tomorrows.  Destroy my very life.  This is his mission (should you choose to accept it.)  Whether I'm prepared or not.  Whether I have blinders on or shield in hand, it's inevitable.  He's out to destroy us!  Getting us tangled up in our yesterdays or frazzled about our tomorrows, he has oh so subtly got our eyes shifted off of today.  This conversation.  This child.  This very moment...stolen.  Never to be retrieved again. 

Another marked up calendar page is flipped again for a nice, clean, blank, well intentioned page.  High hopes for do overs.  Second chances.  New memories built on these pages.  Will the X in each box represent a day well lived?  People loved well?  Projects accomplished?  Or does the X
signify what every handed back test reveals --  we got it wrong!  Do we get a re-take?  Thankfully, yes we do!

"His mercies are new every morning!"-Lamentations 3:23
God must have known what our tendencies would be for Him to make His mercy available new and afresh every morning.  Not once a week on Sunday.  Not just at the Annual Women's Retreat.  But daily.

Is anyone else thankful for a God who knew ahead of time that we'd need a good dose of mercy on a real regular basis?

Faith gets stuck (literally!)

Since my last post, you guessed it...Faith was jealous!  It's pretty typical if you've ever met her. (Yet she takes good care of Hope, cleans her a bit too much for my liking...but we'll avoid that topic.)

So yesterday I get a call from my youngest daughter, in a bit of
a panic.  She said Faith was outside for longer than usual, and
when she approached her in the back yard she and her cute
little Santa outfit were 'stuck' to a bush and she was attached
to a branch.  She couldn't leave...even if she wanted to.

Reminded me of the verse, "I am the vine; you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;  apart
from me you can do nothing."

Oh to have OUR faith stuck to His Vine just like sweet little
Faith in the back yard! (Maybe velcro is the answer!)  How
often we try to break away, escape the very thing that gives us life.  So often we feel it's restrictive, it's holding us back, slowing us down.  Yet it is ultimately what gives us real power...His power, (rather than our own.) 

So today, if you feel that your faith is stuck...abide in Him. Relax.
Enjoy the view.