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A Burning Ring of Fire

Do you remember the words to The Love Boat theme song, “Love is in the air?” Lately I’ve had the same sense; love is in the air or rather the presence of the Lord is all around. I can barely go a day without tears welling up, as I sense all around God’s love for His children. His presence hovers over me and I am undone.

This morning during worship, I found that all I could do was cry. My tears were tears of awe and thankfulness for a God whose kindness leads us to repentance, whose love prunes us to take us higher. I’ve experienced some long painful seasons of pruning, but we are in a season of grace. If we respond to the Lord’s presence we will experience “suddenlys.” All we have to do is respond in obedience!

Last week when I was driving in the fast lane, my speed was greatly curtailed by a truck piled so high with tree cuttings I could barely even see it. While other cars whizzed by I noticed something so unreal that it drew my attention. Sitting on top of the high pile of green foliage was a ladder that looked as if it ascended into the sky. At that very moment the Lord seemed to say to me, “You feel as if others are whizzing by next to you on a lateral plane, but the purpose of pruning is so that you can go up higher.”

Because of the Lord’s love He is forever desiring and working toward the end that we would triumph in every situation. Sometimes we feel absolutely boxed in by our circumstances, but if we look closely we would see that He has drawn a circle around us in the sand and set it ablaze. We are owned by The Consuming Ring of Fire who always seeks to lead us higher in His ways. It is His grace, mercy and kindness that leads us into greater places of intimacy that our hearts have yet to encounter.

The Pearl

What a great picture there is in the parable of the Costly Pearl. (Matthew 13:45)
The story goes that a merchant was seeking fine pearls and upon finding one pearl of great value he sold all that he had and bought it.

This is a picture of what the kingdom of heaven is like. When we find something of such great value we are willing to give up all that we have to obtain it. Jesus is that pearl. However, Jesus was willing to give up His very life on the Cross to obtain the priceless value that He saw in us. So great is our value that He gave His life, so that we might become children of God.

Imagine if we lived our life daily in such a way that nothing mattered, but that one Pearl and all that He values. If we lived that way our choices would become so much simpler.

Because the One who is love bears all things, I can cease from striving and put those that I care about in his hands. He gave up everything for all fine pearls.

“Love bears all thing, believes all things and hopes all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:7

Free Falling

As I danced along to the great songs of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Saturday night at their concert, singing Refugee, and Free Falling, I remembered the zeal of my early adulthood driving through the streets of LA chasing down my dream.

When my kids were young I fell for the trap of wanting them to be well-behaved robots that made me look good, like June Cleaver. I mimicked the other Christians I saw, believing if I did everything right my kids would be perfect little saints, so perfect in fact we wouldn’t need a savior. Isn’t that often our mindset, forgetting that Christians are no different than the rest, far from perfect, pure or righteous apart from God?

Oh how our Western culture has tried to civilize God, but He isn’t to be tamed. Have we forgotten that the God of Israel commanded Abraham to head across the desert with all of his belongings, a way he hadn’t seen or known? Then God informed aged Abraham and his wife that they were expecting a baby and in an unbelievable wild act, God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son.

This is the unrestrained free God trying to teach us about freedom, the freedom to choose. He loves us so much that He is willing to take the risk that we might choose incorrectly. And that we might not choose Him. But He still gives the choice, because He will not take part in what is not free. Maybe because without true freedom love cannot exist, only counterfeits based in fear, duty and obligation. God doesn’t love us because He has to and He doesn’t want our nice acts of worship that are not freely given.

God never wanted cookie cutter people who are to afraid to think for themselves. He was never after a stiff lifeless religion that stifles. God wants passionate Joshua’s and Calebs who are bold enough to take mountains. And those are often made from rough and rowdy misfits the Lord transforms into champions of faith.

If God is raising a champion army, do we really imagine that in preparation He wants us to abandon passion and placidly sit home until one day there is greatness? Rather I think there might be a little muck in the stall before Thoroughbreds turn into Derby winners.

God is the one who fashions greatness in our lives. And it doesn't come by playing it safe hiding out from the big dangerous world. True faith is being released to follow a dream and trusting God with the freedom He authored.

Fresh Wind

I just returned from a two week trip with my father and daughter. One of the most inspiring things we came across on the big trek across country to take Chloe to college in LA was the plethora of wind farms strung across the landscape and open plains of our country.

I loved seeing these modern windmills up close and in person. The magnificent beings stood white and erect, obedient to the movement of the wind. When first they sensed the sweet rush of breeze they’re arms sprang up as their heads dipped down and in a beautiful dance made one rotation after another inspired by the wind.

The beautiful thing about this dance was the power it released through this ever ready, ever attentive instrument of grace creating fuel for others.

When we are sensitive to the touch of the spirit in our lives, ever ready to listen to the rumblings of the wind, to sense the faintest touch, and bow our heads in obedience and surrender, to lift our arms in praise, we too are participating in the heavenly dance of the spirit that releases life to others.

Childlike Lenses

This week the Lord gave me a glimpse into a part of my heart that He adores. It’s the same part that He loves in you, that childlike enthusiasm about life. The problem is this quality can easily be snuffed out.

At times I get weary when it seems that everything and everybody is working to blow that fire out. Even this week when the winds of opposition were blowing, I thought to myself, what is the use? And then the Lord seemed to turn on the light and show me the childlike awe I often feel for life. He loves to see my enthusiasm for what He’s created. In turn it releases creativity in me and the game begins.

The way it works is simple. At times I might see a picture of the beach or hear the sound of the ocean in my head and experience jitters of exaltation, or see the color orange, fresh flowers, vibrant butterflies, or even luscious fabrics and feel my stomach jump.

When you pay attention to your senses, you will notice these things too. The Lord loves the very unique childlike way we each see the world. This may have dulled overtime, but He longs to see our youthful spunk recaptured and thriving.

The things that spark my heart may seem ridiculous to you, but there are things in your own heart that resonate in your being and light up your senses. If you become aware of your own heartbeat a whole world of exploration into the mystery of God will open up to you.

God doesn’t want us to surrender our childlikeness to appease others who are rigid and unwilling to live in their hearts. He wants us to guard those areas and find ways to let the child inside out to play.

This takes intention. And at times it can be a lonely path when others aren’t so high on life. If you are facing that dilemma, ask yourself what is standing in the way of your experiencing wonder and enthusiasm for life and then take responsibility to do something about it. God is inviting you out to play!

Colorful Pages

Mark and I went to see the movie, The Son of Rambow, this past week. Yes, it is spelled, Rambow and not Rambo. It is a great indie film well worth the price of the ticket.

In the story two boys are thrown together to make a film, one tenderhearted and the other deceptive. In the process they each are reconnected to their hearts that had been buried and neglected do to loss.

One boy was raised by his well meaning single mom who struggled to live within the confines of her religion. In the mean time her compliant son awakened in his world. Constant inspiration flowed throughout his mind and emerged into vivid illustrations on every page of his Bible. Story lines with magnificent images flashed upon the screen in contrast to the dead religion that kept his mother’s life bound in black and white pages.

The other boy, defiant and disillusioned was being raised by his indifferent older brother in a world with no parents or boundaries. Amidst his angst he found himself being loved and accepted by his new friend.

Together they poured out their young confused hearts into the film making project that gave their lives purpose and meaning. Through their humorous escapades the audience can quickly identify the emptiness found in a loveless life of religious works, as well as the battering of a world with misused freedom.

This movie makes you want to jump and leap and do everything in your power to stay free from a pseudo religiosity that stifles, but doesn’t give life. As beautifully illustrated, life comes in the midst of relationship, not works.

Stupid Acts Aren't Reserved for Kids

My girl friend Sabrina was telling me that when she heard her son had been in another car accident, her initial response was to see if it was his fault rather than if he had been injured. We laughed.

Only a parent who has insured teenager drivers (in our house multiple) can understand what another car accident does to the family insurance premiums. At one time we insured 7 cars and were pretty much brought to tears when one of the bunch was involved in any traffic violation.

Sabrina's comments made me chuckle as I remembered that just this year one of my children (who shall remain nameless) was involved in 3 car accidents. The only other parent I know at the moment who experiences this kind of Brady Bunch stress, is God.

When I am rolling my eyes, because my kids have done one more ridiculous thing, God says, "Not so fast!" It's easy to be smug when we're all grown up and think we're on the other side of stupidity, until God reminds us of a current stupid act or two of our own.

Its good to remember that we are totally out classed when it comes to God's parenting skills. He clearly has the most stress inducing job dealing with some of His over grown teenagers.

Magnificent Temples

Ever since Adam and Eve were ushered out of the Garden and sin entered the world the earth has been a construction zone. God’s story tells the history of His continuous work to build a temple where He could dwell.

After luxurious temples were built, God still longed to dwell more intimately with man, so He sent Jesus as the payment for our sin, which separated us from God. Jesus became the bridge to God and man. Through His indwelling in our hearts we’ve become the magnificent temple where God chooses to dwell. Isn't that mind boggling? But did you ever think that the same construction work that went on to build and rebuild the ancient temples of God still goes on spiritually in us today?

After the Israelites 70 years of captivity, Nehemiah was called to birth God’s vision and rebuild the broken down temple. However, a nemesis named Sanballat set out to thwart God’s work. He tormented the people day and night saying, “What are these feeble people doing? Can they make something out of what’s useless?” He and his cohorts made it their ambition to mock and demoralize the builders.

Sanballat conspired to attack the weakest parts, but Nehemiah and the people prayed to God and set up guard day and night. They stationed men at the lowest and most exposed areas of the wall. The workers held weapons, even when they gathered water and stationed a man to blow the trumpet when one area was being assaulted, so they could furnish aid to those in need.

Sometimes we forget in the building process that we have a nemesis bent on thwarting God’s vision for our lives, making it necessary to be armed and ready at all times with the sword of the spirit, the word of God and each other.

I wrote this Saturday morning and then yesterday heard a similar text about the rebuilding of broken down areas in our lives at church and heard the song, His Eye is On the Sparrow, after my last post. Isn't in amazing that God so longs to dwell with us that His eye truly is upon the sparrow, as He watches our every move and participates in our lives. Remember if you feel alone, you aren't. He's watching you!

His Eye Is On the Sparrow

Don’t you hate being judged, measured by some external performance, as if that was the some total of who you are? I do. Judgment pushes people away; contrarily unconditional love draws people in.

Maybe that is why the Lord made it a point to key in on the rule keeping Pharisees as they strained out the knat, but swallowed the camel, cleaned out the outside of the cup with their acts of righteousness, yet stayed satisfied while the inside was still filthy. They weren’t able to see beyond their judgments, because of the plank that was in their own eyes.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but isn’t it comforting to know that God looks at the heart. He never shuns, but woos. He longs to be gracious to us and have compassion on us. That’s what He said even to Israel in their rebellion.

Yesterday as I prayed for my kids I felt an intense sadness over their confusion, and being pulled in many directions, while I long to see them find fulfillment in Christ. The Lord feels the same heart break over His kids (mankind) as I do for my kids, yet He doesn’t point a boney finger in judgment. His heart breaks as He longs to sweep His kids up into His arms like a mother caring for her child.

Madeline L' Engle said, "If your going to care about the fall of the sparrow you can't pick and choose whose going to be the sparrow. It's everybody."

His perfect love gave His life for all of us fallen sparrows. How powerful is that? Judgment will never win a heart, love will.

Magnificent Surprises

God knows that we would be terrified if He allowed us to see all of the battles that lay ahead in life all at once, so He leads us by the way of the wilderness, the way that seems so dreadfully long. If He let us see the giants ahead of time we would most certainly run and hide. Not only are we protected from seeing all of the giants that we may face, we also can’t see all of the tremendous surprised that await each of us around unknown bends in the road.

The difficulty that comes with the long route is staying focused and on track, because sometimes we take our eyes off of the Lord and forget that we are led like the Israelites in the wilderness. The Lord is the cloud that leads us by day and a fire in the darkest night that guides and illuminates our path. The only thing that will derail us is if we stop following the spirit, go our own way, or park ourselves and cease from moving. Yet, if we keep moving toward the things of God we will continually be surprised by our Father’s goodness.

After years on this long route, suddenly my heavenly Father surprised me and took me around an unforeseen bend in the road when out of the blue I sat on the couch this past weekend with my dad watching the fairytale movie, Enchanted. Most young girls watch fairy tales with their dad, but I never had that chance. I watched my father walk away when my parents divorced. Yet somehow all of these years later to my utter surprise, the Lord recreated the past.

I was even more surprised when my dad purchased a car for Chloe, my eighteen-year-old daughter, offered to drive with us to LA this summer where she will attend college and then this past weekend drove here on her graduation weekend to deliver the car.

After following the cloud all of these years, and having been exasperated by the route many times, I am still magnificently amazed by the Lord’s secret advances, and hidden surprises that pop out of the blue and captivate my attention as if I was on a wild roller coaster ride at Disney Land.

The Tubes Have Rolled Away

This morning I woke up from a comedic dream, laughing! In the dream I was in a meeting with a bunch of people I knew from the past, while I happened to be leaning up against a set of plastic drawers on rollers, the kind you can find in a college students room or that I use to store art and collaging supplies. Leaning up against the drawers were rolls and rolls of parchment scrolls covered over tubes like wrapping paper.

In the front of the room commanding all of the attention was a woman with big Texan style hair singing her tune. As I stood there slightly leaning up against the drawers, suddenly they started to roll away and the scrolls fell over onto me. I was sort of trapped, because if I moved they would have come crashing down making a huge spectacle.

Friends that were nearby laughed and we worked hard to contain ourselves and not breakout into a roar of laughter. Then a pastor-friend from the past came up from behind me as I explained what had happened. He smiled and said that he knew, everyone behind me saw it all take place. I joked and said, "The tubes are empty the drawers have rolled away," as in the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away!

The dream reminded me of a painful time and place, yet the laughter was evidence that it truly had been cleared away. All of the accounts that had been tabulated on those scrolls and measured against me, had no power, because the tubes were rolled away, the neatly gift-wrapped scrolls of insults, the entrapment and those that judged from the sidelines.

It's amazing how God can take something so painfully devastating and bring resurrection out of it. He can even make it into a comedy! I see the evidence of this by the mere fact that I am friends with some of the very people that hurt me so deeply.

There was a day when the pain was taken and rolled into something new, like the laughter that woke me out of my sleep this morning. The pain was turned into incredible joy as I awoke from my slumber and into a new life of purpose.

I chose to lay down the offenses of the injustices that had fallen on me, recorded in those documents, because Christ took them all upon Himself and rose out of those confining tubes. The drawers lined with accusations were rolled away and with His resurrection expertise He used each detail to compile a magnificient collage that trumpets His message.

Get in the Battle

Last night in our Home Group we discussed the battle waged in our minds that we all face. Sadly, many of us go about our days without giving much thought to our thinking.

Throughout years of my life I was tossed to and fro, knocked here and there, because of unidentified intruders that set up camp in my thought life. These thoughts were so subtly and familiar that for a long time I didn’t recognize that they were unwanted intruders. I thought they were simply me!

Eventually I began to recognize that they were lies being perpetrated against me that weren’t coming from the heart of God. I decided to wake up, get on the offensive and wrestle down the obtrusive thoughts, taking them captive.

What one of us would sit by and let an intruder barge in our home uninvited? Yet we often sit by passively when invasive thoughts infiltrate our minds like cancer. Yet, the effort that it takes to challenge our thinking is rather small in comparison to the years the enemy has kept us ineffective and off the playing field.

When we allow ourselves to be accused over and over again, we are giving an intruder the benefit of the doubt. We might as well go over to the enemy’s camp. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Who do we want to be standing with in the fight?

We have a choice everyday to control our thoughts or be controlled by our thoughts. We can sit around and allow negative thoughts to zap our energy, wear us down and keep us paralyzed, or we can fill our mind with the truth of God’s word. There is scientific proof that negative thoughts release toxic chemicals into our bodies, poorly affecting our health, while healthy, loving thoughts affect us positively. Take a look at some of the affects of negative thinking.

Why we hold onto negative thinking
1. The negative is a familiar feeling 2. Feeling out of control over a situation makes us want to think of ways to control or manipulate an outcome 3. We like to feel sorry for ourselves
4. We give ourselves an excuse to procrastinate 5. We allow ourselves to remain a victim, wanting sympathy

The fruit that comes from thinking & believing the truth
1. Feeling healthy and having energy 2. Releasing manipulation and taking responsibility 3. Faith in the goodness of the Lord 4. Feeling confident and motivated to face life 5. Being hopeful and proactive

How do we change negative thoughts and renew our mind?
1. Stop your thoughts in their tracks and replace them with the truth of God’s word. If you feel worried find what God says about worrying. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-72.

2. Journal about the way you honestly feel. Then respond by giving your thoughts a renewed vantage point. 3. Decide to find the good in everyday, and watch your countenance change!
4. Decide not to allow any circumstance to steal your joy. 5. PRAY! Go on the offensive and get in the battle!

Which Side Are You On?

Today, I found myself wishing my life had an automatic On star devise, so I could send out an S.O.S. The call for help would have resounded with a loud, “Calling virtual assistant, business owner in distress.”

As I enjoyed a great lunch today getting to know a fellow speaker and coach, I found myself expressing (no surprise here) that the challenge in my work is always the detail stuff.

I can totally loose myself in a day of writing, sitting down at the computer in the morning and not looking up until five O’clock. I enjoy writing so much that I often realize I totally overlooked lunch. The same is true with teaching one of my workshops, speaking at an event, working on a speech for an event, (all of the vision stuff) but please someone save me from web design, figuring out automatic article submissions, auto responders for newsletters and the host of other things that make me coo coo for coco puffs.

If anyone knows of a good web designer who is easy to work with please send me their contact information and other names of people who could help me run my business! Its one thing to be a visionary, but you gotta have a team to implement the vision. Here I am calling out for my team!

That is why we aren’t all alike. If we all could get the job done, there would be no new ideas. And if we all were idea people we’d never stop dreaming to accomplish anything. It’s important to know which one you are and get on the right side of the vision.

A Besieged City

To those of you who feel like your life has been under siege and you cringe when you read my happy go lucky blogs under the heading, Laughing Out Loud, I want you to know that I too have my days when I am under, rather than over. I’ve had years of being a besieged city in ruins and that is why I fervently speak about life after destruction. My life was a ruin that has been rebuilt after grave devastation.

None of us escapes seasons of captivity, because we are people who are prone to captivity. We are often more easily drawn to captivity it seems than the wide open spaces of freedom. We can’t help it. Let’s face it without Christ’s redemption we’re messes.

Jeremiah sent a letter to encourage all of the exiles during the time when King Nebuchadnezzer had taken captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. Included were skilled laborers, the regular folks, as well as government leaders and the queen mother the Bible says. It just goes to show you that whether you’re the queen mother or a regular Joe we all face our own captivities.

Jeremiah delivered a message to all of the exiles from God saying that He(God) had taken them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon! He instructed them to build houses for themselves and plant gardens, marry, have children and make themselves at home, to thrive and not waste away even in their place of captivity. And He told them to pray for Babylon’s well being and when the time was up He’d take them home.

“I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won‘t be disappointed. ..I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.”

The mind of God is certainly a mystery that we will never fully understand, but for all intensive purposes, it seems clear that during these difficult seasons He’s after one thing. He wants us to pursue Him and want Him more than anything else.

We are so easily drawn into captivity. I'm thinking of all of the things that distract us from pursuing God. It is in those unbearable times of captivity that we run to God in our desperation. I know sometimes we have to get over being mad at the one who wounded us so deeply (God), but eventually we realize there is no where else to run and we let go of all that stands between us.

I had to struggle through that process when the Lord allowed my husband to die from cancer. I struggled through years of captivity, painfully waking everyday to face days that I didn’t want to face, making me desperate for God. And just like in Jeremiah’s God message to the exiles, when the time was right, God released me from my prison of pain and brought me out into a new place of freedom and peace. Because I witnessed Him bring me out of the tomb into a new life, I can with laughter and joy declare that He is an awesome God, faithful in all of His ways, even when we can’t begin to understand them. He loves us and works in all things for our good.

Go ahead and Laugh!

Do you ever wake up and find that something strikes you so funny that you can’t help but giggle? I didn’t exactly wake up that way, but once I got going and watched a video clip on Facebook I was sent into orbit laughing at the ridiculous parody of three varying personas in a simulated version of, To Tell the Truth.

And yesterday my sister called to tell me she had the most wonderful Colonoscopy. Is there such a thing? I remember my Colonoscopy and wonderful wouldn’t make it in the same sentence. Her reasoning...being so starved for attention she loved the doting she received from the kind and thoughtful medical team.

I guess I can remember thinking a similar thought during my widow years as I anticipated my yearly GYN appointment. It was the one time a year a man actually sat down and talked to me for twenty minutes! Now that’s funny!

I love the ridiculous things in life that interrupt my routine and inspire laughter. Being a results driven person, it’s nice to get hijacked by laughter.

I guess that is why Proverbs 15:15 says, “A cheerful heart has a continuous feast.” I for one would be very content enjoying an uninterrupted feast. I guess that’s why God made girl friends to keep us amused. As much as I love men, they just don’t see the world through the same lens. Here is to girl friends and laughter. Take it when it comes, because we all know the effects of what unpleasant days evoke and laughter isn’t usually the emotion.

The Possibilities

Wow, I got a lot of yucky stuff done today. You know the kind of stuff that nags at you from piles screaming, “Attend to me.” All of the attending makes me feel good. Tomorrow I can start with a clean slate spending some quality time writing and working on my next speaking engagement.

Today I also connected with a contact for a new speaking venue, so putting in the time on these details is important. The problem is I don’t like details. I am a big picture person, looking out over the grand vista in my mind, so tying me down to itty bitty slow paced details is excruciating.

I don’t want to dwell on it for a moment longer. It’s done and I am happily blogging away. I even made stuffed peppers tonight for a lovely meal. Yeah, I conquered the day even after Mark and I road bikes yesterday for many miles that whipped me good.

What will tomorrow’s grand adventure be? I dare myself to wake up Tuesday morning and breathe in the possibilities. Hum, what do I want tomorrow to be? How can life be the fullest tomorrow, shaking off the shackles of today to embrace the tomorrow that will quickly become yesterday? Yes, simply living in the grandest, truest, most alive fashion that I can dream up.

P.S I just signed off from writing this blog, walked into the bathroom and glanced at my husband's sports magazine and noticed a full page add that said, MAKE TUESDAY A SATURDAY! Another words it echoed my sentiment about tomorrow, Tuesday morning breathing in the possibilities! Woo ha!

Loveable in Pajamas

Isn’t it a good thing that we are not defined by what we do, because on March 31st, after being out of town over Easter for a week, followed by a weekend soccer Tournament in Atlanta, I opted to stay in my pajamas most of the day. Wouldn’t you know it, on a bad hair day when I was exhausted the phone rang to tell me that an ambulance was taking my son from the soccer field to the hospital?

As my luck would have it I decided to skip that game, because it was raining and I had just returned from a weekend full of soccer. So not only did I look like a bad, uninvolved mother, I felt like a hostage who had been released after days without grooming.

I managed to throw on a clean sweater and a quick smear of lipstick, before my husband and I headed to the hospital where I ended up spending the night with my son. And incase you were wondering sleeping in a broken recliner did nothing for my overall appearance.

The important thing was that Sam did not have to have surgery after all, because the doctor was able to set his leg, which was dislocated and broken in three places. It was quite irrelevant whether I had been in my pajamas all day.

Had I been in a competition being scored by judges, I would not have received very high marks, but fortunately I am not defined by that one bad day, or the many other bad days I’ve had. I am defined by what my Creator thinks about me. Thankfully He’s crazy about me! He said that I was wonderfully made. He is so intimately involved with my life that He knows how many hairs I have on my head, even when they’re greasy.

He feels about me a little like I felt about each of my babies when they smeared food all over their bodies. Their bad table manners did not for one moment dent my perception of them, because my love has never been based on how they perform, but the mere fact that I am helpless to do anything but love them. If I can say that, think how much more God loves unconditionally, even when I’m sloth,ful loafing around in my pajamas.

Climbing is Not For Wimps

Climbing the mountain is never easy. That is why it's called climbing. Truth be told, I'm one of those sissy girls. I enjoy walking, even speed-walking (I'm a fast walker anyway), but tell me to jog or do a strenuous climb up a hill and I might go straight into an asthma attack!

That is why years ago when I was considering buying a 5 speed automobile, my sister commented that if I couldn’t operate my car and got stuck in traffic, I’d probably just abandon it. Maybe that was true once upon a time, because I wasn’t much of a fighter, but rather an expert quitter.

You see we moved so much growing up (13 schools in as many cities), that I learned to just move on when things got tough. Then God took control of the reigns with His amazing technique for growing resilience and fortitude in the most unsuspecting subjects.

Now when a mountain presents itself, I am pretty darn determined. In fact, if we were on a hike I would probably be the first to get to the top of the hill, because of my tenacity. Mind you, sometimes I might be heading up the wrong hill or fighting an obsolete fight, but darn it, there I’ll be puffing away on that mountain. Now my husband, Mr. Steady and Well-Researched will be right there when I get back down to point me in the right direction. The steady part is why I married him. When you’re as fast to act as I often am you need a little moderation.

The point is, many of us are facing important mountains, some which lead to our destinies, but it’s going to take a continuous effort to make it up the hill. We won’t get there if we abandon our mission. We need to remind each other to keep on keeping on in the climb. It will be worth it when the mountain is under our feet and we are looking out over the expanse prepared for the next horizon we have to master.

Wake Up, Wake Up

OK, I am ticked off. I always liked Oprah, because I saw her doing for women what the church was neglecting to do. She has challenged and called women out in many areas. I believe Oprah has the platform that she has, because the church has failed to do this in many ways. But now that she is leading millions of people through the book, The New Earth, which denies the reality of God, teaching that we are our own gods, denying the power of the Cross, I have to draw the line.

If anything this should make Christian women stand up and decide to get activated and purposeful about their lives. We need to step out of our comfort zones to embrace our unique purpose and lead the lost and searching into freedom. Women need other women. As great as men are, a man cannot teach a woman to be a woman.

It has been inspiring women that have drawn me into new realms of freedom and awakened my spirit, so that I would not settle for a lesser calling than what God intended for my life. We need to wake up, so other women are not misguided.

A Few Hours Later

Just a few short hours after my last post I received a phone call from Mr. Jacobs, Sam's school soccer coach telling me that he was on the field waiting for an ambulance to arrive and take Sam to the hospital. Mr. Jacobs seemed so calm (later I learned he was sitting next to Sam while speaking to me) that I remained calm, but I wondered why an ambulance was called.

The phone rang again and it was the Paramedic asking if he had my permission to give Sam morphine for the pain he was experiencing, yet giving me no details as to why. On the way to the emergency room a friend who was at the school game and saw the accident called to say, "Don't be surprised if Sam needs surgery." When Mark and I saw Sam on the stretcher with his foot and ankle unusually twisted we began to get the picture, which increased our prayer even more!

After seeing the x-rays it was clear that his foot was broken in several places. The Orthopedic surgeon suggested that likely he would need surgery, but that they would put him to sleep, take him into the operating room and either realign the bones that were out of place or proceed with surgery. Fortunately the doctor was successful without surgery.

When the doctor met us in the waiting room he said, "Everything seemed perfectly aligned for Sam. You came in at exactly the right time, making it possible for me to move one of my surgeries back to take care of him quickly." Have you ever known anything to happen quickly in the emergency room? Sam prayed on the field as he layed their in pain, as did many others. Gratefully we experienced the Lord's intervention on Sam's behalf.

The doctor kept us over night at the hospital to keep an eye on Sam and released us this afternoon. I am so very thankful for the incrediable care and provision the Lord provided for Sam, as though the red carpet was rolled out.

Sam has been resting, taking calls, receiving visitors and fielding questions from his school mates about this dramatic event. His demanding social life rolls on!

5 Steps to a Jumpstart

If you need a jumpstart to kick off your spring try these fun creative exercises to spur you on.

1. Make a list of "I love to..." and then decide to enjoy your life

2. Start a Fun Club and do fun things even if you are the only member

3. Write a "Things that Make My Heart Go Pitter Patter" list and gratefully reflect on it often

4. Write a love letter from your creative-self and mail it to yourself! You will be thrilled when you receive it. I did a similar thing in a class when I wrote a letter from my new book to myself. It was wonderful when it arrived in the mail!

5. Decide to give yourself a break. Receive a "Free Pass" and stop kicking yourself for your
mistakes.

Laughter is Good Medicine

I just returned from a great week in Arkansas. Mark the kids and I joined my sister and her family who flew in from Los Angeles for Easter break. We all gathered together with our two cousins Jeffery and Jonathan where we got to see Jeffery’s adorable little girl for the first time and his wife, my aunt June, her friend Dave, and our sweet Grandmother.

We also got to spend some time with our dad and step mom, so it was an action packed trip. Although I dearly love each one, there is nothing like the connection I have with my sister, Lisa.

Whenever we’re together we laugh our pants off, so we’ve decided that we need much more of the laughter drug throughout the year. Living on opposite coasts doesn’t make it easy. However last year we managed to see each other three times. And every November 4th, is a regular date when we are together celebrating our grandmother’s birthday.

I will be in LA this summer taking my daughter to college, so you can bet that the air will be filled with spontaneous, uncontainable laughter. I don’t think Mark has ever seen me laugh so much or so hard. Lisa and I have the same comedic lens, which tickles us silly, bringing out the childlikeness in each other. Who couldn't use a refreshing splash in a cool spring?

The Sport of Wisdom

If you are a parent of a middle school boy chances are that you have heard that there is a great deal of apathy from kids in this day and age. My middle school son came face to face with his lack of effort yesterday, which almost got him ousted off his soccer team.

Even though my husband and I have continued to drive home the message of diligence, accountability and the fruit that results from applying oneself deliberately, it wasn’t until he sat before his teachers parroting the same message that the sound waves seemed to reach his ears.

It dawned on me that the lack of intention in our youth is a result of the lack of intention in the world around them. This generation believes everything will effortlessly land in their lap, because they live in a world of illusion spawned by TV.

Many adults are just as careless about their life, fritting it away with out much thought or intention. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I woke up and realize that this was the only shot I’d get, because there are no dress rehearsals! I guess it is time to get back out our character study on wisdom titled Searching for Treasures, that I have used for twenty years with my kids.

Now I continually pray for wisdom and understanding for my children and this generation. Lord, help this generation! Give us wisdom and understanding. Fill us with the knowledge of Your will. Check out this applicable verse for soccer players!

"Doing wickedness is like a sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding." Proverbs 10:23

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Col. 1:9

"Teach me to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.” Proverbs 24:3

“The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7

This is Your Life!

The whole room vibrated as the band played and the crowd sang the words, "This is your life. Are you who you want to be? This is your life. Is it everything you dreamed it would be?"

I continue to be amazed every Sunday at church when I hear so much of what is on my heart and in my workshops concerning grabbing a hold of this big wonderful life and living life to the fullest. It's the same message that welled up in my heart when life wasn't a beautiful Sunday drive. The very challenge I faced to keep on living was the instrument that made me passionate about not letting life flee by without being embraced.

It doesn't matter what we feel called to do, we just need to do it with gusto. No more hanging out in the land of just getting by, we need to take hold of the challenge, climb the mountain and be counted as one who is running the race with all their heart. I've heard it said, "If good isn't working, try being outrageous!" Become one who isn't content with average, become outrageous!

Possessing the Key

As a girl I had the opportunity to be the lead in my camp’s production of Rapunzel. Recently the Lord began to remind me that like Rapunzel I have always possessed the key to my freedom.

Rapunzel, found her escape to freedom through something she already possessed that was very assessable. Remember her long hair that worked as a ladder for her rescue? Not only did she possess the means to escape her captivity, it was extremely common, yet highly personal.

In the great childhood story, The Wizard of OZ, Dorothy found the very thing she had been searching for right at home where she lived. There is something unique we are meant to connect to resident in all of us.

I’m pretty attuned to living from my heart and in communion with the Lord, but when I make a detour trying to keep up with someone else’s’ pulse, I may miss the obvious even if it is right in front of me. Don't we often seek outside ourselves for answers that only we carry?

It took me a long time to recognize the assets that God innately deposited in me, but when I began to own them, I began to live outside of my prison walls.

At first my son Josh didn't recognize his natural ability with people, even though it makes it easy for him to excel. He thought his ability to make others feel comfortable and accepted was ordinary, not noticing the job offers he gets even when he’s not looking.

“It feels too easy to be a gifting” he said, but that is exactly the point. If something feels effortless it is the signature of divine craftsmanship, because what may be easy for one person is not for another.

What God given key do you posses to your freedom that you haven't recognized?

No, You Can't Have It!

Just when I get that "life is great" feeling in my stomach there is something that jumps out of the bushes to try and steal it.

I was a soccer game on Saturday. The weather was fine all day and then as soon as Sam's game starts the rain came. I tried to tough it out like a good soccer mom, but the wind blew, my umbrella bent, and being the prissy girl that I am, I had to hang it up.

It's hard to hold the course in the midst of a down pour. That is how life feels lately. All around I see people I love in the midst of a down pour, shivering from the cold, in shock and getting shaken by the difficult season they are in. My heart aches as I pray for the many I know that are in pain. Then I realize I have to go on with the strength I have presently, because there will probably be a time when I am cold and shivering and I will need their strength and joy in the midst of difficulty. I've been there before, so I know the reality of the cold.

It is in times of war when we feel like it the least that we need to take out our instruments (i'm picturing David and his men around a camp fire) and start raising our voices. You know how it feels when you turn up the radio in your car and scream out the lyrics to a great rock song? That is what I am after now. I need the release of a good yell and then gently handing my friends back to the only ONE who can truly help in times of need.

I'm going to get in my car now and turn on the radio and scream. I am screaming for my friends and I am screaming, because I will not surrender them!

Awakening Your Senses

Do you ever feel out of touch with your own creativity? You can’t even remember what it felt like during the times when you had inspiration oozing out; maybe some are so disconnected from their creative self they can’t even recall such time when they even felt creative.

However, being made in the image of an imaginative God who made the rainbow, the ocean, the birds, a zillion flowers, not to mention the intricate variations in the DNA of mankind, why would you think you are without creativity. If you feel that way, it just hasn’t been tapped into yet, or more likely you haven't made room for it.

You know how these things go, sometimes there is rich inspiration abounding and sometimes you feel more like you’re a dried up water hole. I'm currently in a season of a lot of inspiration.
As I pondered the creative impulses I’ve had lately, the prodding and invitation to be taken up into the place of musing, I realized when I am sensitive to my senses; I open the way for more creativity.

How many of us go through our days rarely in touch with the language of our senses, these incredible gifts that for most of us function with little thought, yet get little fanfare. I’m talking about the ability to see the bristles on your husband’s face, feel the smooth curve of your own calf, hear the wind whistling in the trees, smell fresh bread baking and taste the butter as it runs down the warm slice you consume in an instant.

This mysterious language was given for our pleasure, for communicating to each other and back to God. Through our senses we can experience worship in a new way. Did you know that holding your child in your arms can be an act of worship to God? The gift of making love to your husband is a profound act of worship to the Creator who made you with these senses. If we tune up our receptor to awaken to the movement of the senses in our lives, we will begin to get our creativity jumping. We will be the creative people we were designed to be.

Soon I will have a free download available on my website, 5 Steps to Get Your Creativity Jumping.

Reteaching Loveliness

"The bud stands for all things, even those things that don't flower, for everything flowers from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to re-teach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on its brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing."
Galway Kinnell

I’ve written about this poem before, not on my blog, in my book. Today as I typed this poem up for a girl friend who has recently been devastated by a stroke, I was reminded of what this poem meant to me in a time of my own devastation.

The Bible speaks about the reproach or shame of ones widowhood. Of course I never understood that until I became a widow. Most of us would think, why be ashamed, loosing a spouse had nothing to do with you. Nevertheless the shame still existed and all that I was seemed to be ripped from me in an instant, my identity as a wife and my sexuality as a woman. suddenly I was reduced to the new oddity of being a single woman in a married crowd.

At 36 I was thrown back to the awkward teen years, not knowing how to acclimate to old friends that suddenly saw me differently. Women guarded as if their husbands had become my prey. The solid ground I knew became soft and spongy. Nothing felt secure, as all reference points spun out of control by the amputation I experienced in loosing my lover, best friend and father to my children. I felt totally exposed and naked. Suddenly all beauty was gone. Nothing felt lovely inside or out. I was stripped of all loveliness.

Bill died on Good Friday and was buried the day after Easter. All things looked dead and dormant, like the town of Weedsport that we spent the night in on the way home for Bill’s funeral. Yet that wasn't the end of the story. It never is, because if a seed goes into the ground and dies it will spring up into new life. That is the hope that we have.

Slowly with time, glimmers of hope emerged in my life as love began to cloth me and transform my life, reteaching my heart its loveliness. There is no one or no thing that cannot be transformed by the power of love. That is why I am particularly passionate about calling women out of the dead-barren places where they have been stomped down, trampled over or forgotten their loveliness.

Love Unlocks Doors-Happy Valentine's Day

"Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren't even there before." Mignon Mclaughlin
With love I am unstoppable, without it my light dims. Can you imagine being so infused with a constant infilling of love, so surrounded that you can't escape it or feel anything beyond, underneath, around or besides it? That is what Paul prays in Ephesians 3: 17, that being so rooted and grounded in love we would be able to comprehend how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is which surpasses knowledge.

Although lately I have seen glimmers, someday I will know the full reality of love when I meet Jesus face to face. But for now I strive to grow more fully, to live more deeply in the presence of God's love, to live dripping in it and not just speaking of it intellectually.

It is all around us, in us and through us, before us constant and available, but how easily we get disconnected from the life source.When little quills get stuck in my skin or old splitters fester, that freeing love diminishes through my diminishing perception of life and the world. It all comes down to my perception. If I am struggling and rating any given moment through all that has affected, molded and formed my perception there is no way I can accurately access the power of His love, even though His love is unchanging. My perception layered with squewed realities at times can make experiencing God’s love as illusive as capturing a greased watermelon slipping through my hands.

However, when I block the world out and look up at the heavens, I am taken back by how huge God's love truly is for me. If I could take it all in it would be explosive.

Because of that outrageous love there is the realm of possibility that I strive to live in, breaking free from all of my preconceived ideas, all of my unmovable opinions and everything I think I know, when in reality it all could be undermined in a moment by His penetrating, life altering love. Imagine being the most loved person on the face of the earth, so lost in love that nothing could stop you. The truth is we are loved that perfectly, if only we could recongnize it.

Missing Beauty

"A crown of beauty in the Lord's hand." That's what the Bible says we are. We are His delight and He takes pleasure in lavishing His love upon us. Knowing these things makes me want to know more fully His passion for me. I want to live in the daily reality- God is crazy about me, so much so that He hung the moon just for me.

That is what I feel when I look out upon the moon lit sky. Although I gaze up into the expanse, I don't feel like a small speck in the mix. In the quietness of the night I feel God so intimately acquanited with me that He woos me into His company to say, "I hung the moon for you!"

Today I sat on the floor with my guitar and glanced over to see the first email Mark ever sent to me framed and sitting on my shelf. The subject line says, Missing Beauty. Mark sent me that after I left a church that we both attended and he was reconnecting to see where I went.

Today, when I read those words again, Missing Beauty, I knew that I was sensing the Lord's heart too. His thoughts towards us are too numerous to imagine, continually leaning in towards His Beauties, the ones for which He hung the moon. We are the ones He created millions of incredible flowers to enjoy. We are the ones that He made a world to exist in, to know love, be loved, give love and mostly experience His outrageous love. Don't you just want to soak in that outlandish moon hanging love? I do!

Training to Win the Race

I was reading in my devotional today and I was reminded that in the life of an athlete training is a necessary and on going process. When running a marathon you must train, not merely try hard if you want to be successful. This process is not only confined to athletes. This is a life long process for growth and for success in life. To receive a payoff there is a process. We must train to win.

There is an immense difference between training to do something and trying to do something. That is why when we come to hard things in life that are too big for us to accomplish on our own, if we are smart we will look to our Trainer for specific instruction in the process.

You can guess how much I like going to the gym. But I want the payoff, so I do it. By applying the same principal to other things that I have to process through lets me participate in the process and not sit on the sidelines as a victim. No one wants to apply hard work to things we don't like to do. We would rather be rescued out of the process, but that would defete the purpose. No one can do the work of training necessary for an athlete, except the athelet himself. I know the process bites, but I want the payoff. There is no payoff without the process.

All the Little Pieces

My mind thinks well of itself. It is eager and ready, up in the morning to run the show. It makes a plan and executes it. It sizes up a situation, a person or a dilemma and moves forward to “handle” things. My mind is a handler.

But then He comes peaking from around the bend, “Hey Kimber, in all of your handling, where have you been?” I respond, “I’ve put my running shoes on like you told me to do. I’ve been up this hill and the next. Look at that mountain I claimed and the one over there.”

Again, “Kimber, where have you been?” Somehow I knew the question wasn’t about geography, but availability. I knew that He had come to collect all of the little pieces that Mind neglected. He came to collect my heart that was lagging behind on the mountains my will had in tow.

On one side was the handler and on the other, pieces on the floor. Now I am confused. These two don’t seem to work very well together. One often leads with no consideration of the other. Conquering all these kingdoms and living for the “go” I’ve certainly been living, but wait, my heart says, “No.”

Then masterfully He comes to stake out my heart, stalking in the corner, watching every action and passing thought. Then in the perfect moment His lasso is thrown and I feel the gentle tug- He’s calling me home. If I ignore the prodding, He’ll tighten the rope until it burns, digging into my chest, I feel the tearing of all of the pieces He’s come to collect.

The burn grows stronger still. Mind is powerless to act, but relinquishes its firm insistence in response to His strong persistence. I know I am an easy target with His advances, because of His indescribable need to have me I give little resistance. He’s not the type that is one day wanting and the next day done. No judgmental expectations sizing me up. No pointed calculations that are far out of my reach, simply He longs to love me.

He takes the dirty acid drops and the bitter waters from where Mind has drunk, He washes them away, all those less worthy voices and removes the cutting burs that have pierced through my worth. Then reminding me of who I am, lifting my eyes to Him again, I sing the words I wrote,

“Looking in the mirror I see your face staring back at me, with beauty and grace living right here inside of me. Now I know who I am-All the little pieces You’ve come to collect. All the little pieces of my neglect. All the little pieces are waiting for You.”

Highly Favored

Since I believe I am highly favored simply because I am a created child of God, (like the rest of you) wouldn’t it be a slap in the face to God if I lived as an outcast? In God’s eyes that must be like throwing a party, and finding that the guests aren’t willing to hike up the hillside to discover the magnificent spread you’ve prepared for them.

When you’re having one of those days when you feel rejected and snubbed by life, ask yourself who’s club you feel excluded from that you’re trying to join anyway. You have already been given the most significant placement you will ever hold. You’ve been invited to the best party in town, called life.

Scripture says that Mary was highly favored. I wonder how highly favored Mary felt when her parents and fiance questioned her purity and credibility? She wasn’t exactly receiving top honors in her club. God had given her the credentials, but no one seemed to recognize them. When the angel appeared to Joseph, attitudes shifted. Sometimes we respond like Joseph’s initial reaction, but we turn the suspicion upon ourselves.

Recently I heard someone say that you can imagine your life into a better place. There was a time when I would have instantly deleted that comment, because of its New Age sounding undertones. However, I now understand that Proverbs 23:7 says as a man “thinks within himself, so he is.” Boy is that true!

Our beliefs determine the kind of life we live. If you are unhappy with your life take a look at your beliefs. Your beliefs are the one thing that has the power to undermine your life. If I believe in my heart that I am not favored, imagine what will exist in my life. But if I am bold enough not to let my life be dictate to me by circumstances, but decide to believe or even try imagining at first that I am highly favored, who can stop me?

Read the words of John Ortberg on this topic from his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted. “Cognitive psychologists remind us that always between the events that happen to us and our responses to them lie our beliefs or interpretations of those events.” The good news is that we don’t have to stay victim to bankrupt or misaligned beliefs, we can change our mind.

Mary might have initially felt like a victim. I certainly have. She had no say in her assignment, but she obviously soon realized that she was invited to a greater invitation, so she shifted her perspective. Is there an event in your life that has made you feel that you have been victimized? Could God be calling you to a higher perspective?

My Space

Two nights ago I couldn't sleep, so from 2:30 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. I created a myspace and facebook page. I know a little bit of an over kill. Unfortunately that's pretty much the way I am, an all or nothing kind of girl.

So, yesterday I coerced Sam (14) to help me arrange my page and put a song on my facebook page. All the while my kids are mocking me, like I am the only mother who has a myspace page. I actually did it because of several other people I know in business who have one.

Now my very clever son Gabe tells me he can quickly get me a thousand friends on my pages if he contacts all of the people on his. I'm wondering, Do I really want all of those people as friends?

So now in the midst of my already busy life, I have added two more things to be a slave to. We'll see how it goes. Sometimes I need a diversion and sometimes I need to be diverted from the diversions.

What Do You Do with Your Doors?

I was recently in a writing class where the instructor mentioned taking note of the way we enter or close doors in our lives. She described her hurried morning frantically leaving her house; arms piled high with books, to thoughtlessly slam the door behind her. Her words of regret struck me.

Do I welcome whatever is coming my way through the door, even difficulties in life? If I do I will be able to navigate much better through them. Imagine the difference between welcoming life and slamming the door on it. If I am a welcomer, I will have the power to affect the quality of my world and leave the sweet fragrance of Christ through what ever door I close or enter, rather than an angry huff. I could become a world changer. At the least I will affect those around me in a positive and uplifting way.

The Infamous Family Photo 2

Here's an update on the family photo that we're famous for every year. This year it did not go out with my Christmas cards. In fact the cards that get sent to my family were withheld until after Christmas. For all of the regular folks I actually sent out an email card absent of the family photo.

In lieu of all of this I discovered one blessing about having my birthday four days after Christmas, (other than the blessing that I am alive, like my dad says its better than the alternative) is that because its my birthday I pretty much get whatever I want. I had tried all through the holidays to get the fam together for a photo. I even have two photographers in the bunch, nevertheless they whined, complained and totally blew me off.

Well, when my birthday came around, let me just say it was a great day. They all got in line to cater to me. When I was asked what I wanted to do for my b-day, I chose for us all to go roller skating. However, Sam ended up taking a bad fall the night before, blacking out and smashing his head, so I changed the activity to something where there were less chances to need paramedics.

We all went to see the Disney movie Enchanted, the fairytale that comes to life in NYC. It was such a blast to watch all of the grown men in the bunch squirm through the movie. That was worth the price of the ticket. However, when push comes to shove, they actually thought the movie was very funny and entertaining, which it was intended to be. Mark never would have agreed to go if he hadn't wanted to make me happy on my birthday. Birthdays are the bomb!

Since it was cater to me day, before we went to the movie, I insisted that everyone line up for the photo. It's amazing what a breeze it was, all because it was my birthday. No one made terrible faces or goofed off, except Chloe's one indecent gesture, but other than that most of the shots were tolerable and it only took 15 minutes tops. Hooray for birthdays!

The Obstinate Twins

As I listened to the frozen rain beating against my house this morning, I was assured that yes, it was a day of inclement weather. Sure enough the phone rang to confirm that school would be closed. Turning back over in relief that I wouldn't need to rise so early, I began to ponder the power of weather.

There are few things in life that are so formidable as weather. Seemingly random in its nature makes me wonder if this is the inconsistent relative whose behavior can never quite be calculated. All it takes is the wrong word spoken to set it sideways.

And then there is the twin sibling named child birth, who can never be told what to do. She's so independent and non-conforming, like a teenager coming in at all hours of the night. We may try to hold the mandatory family meeting where all gather with ultimatums, but ultimately sister birth breezes in when she darn well pleases. Some say she is particularly fond of full moons, but the only thing you can count on with her is that she will arrive in her own sweet time, just ask any mom.

When I was a month out from delivering Josh, my second born, my girl friend Barb, also expecting, and I decided to fly our midwife friend from Oklahoma in to deliver both of our babies. Just as the obstinate teenager would have it, I delivered a day before she arrived and Barb delivered two weeks after she had flown back home. All to prove the point that birth won't be controlled. It certainly seems to be in cohorts with weather and works overtime to rearrange all of our plans and keep us on our toes.

To Concede or Not to Concede

I love Wednesdays, because I am taking a wonderful writing class and Mark and I lead a home group of great people through church. The only downer is that I hate to clean my house in preparation for it. The secret is out. OK, it's not really a secret. And if you came to my house you might not notice the lack of enthusiasm for cleaning that exists, because the house is always tidy and relatively clutter free. However, don't look too closely or the illusion of my ordered world might be shattered. The sad thing is my kids all have the same lack of affinity for house work. Could it be the genes?

I am trying something new this year. I have decided not to be concerned with the appearance of a spotless home. I have so many other things going on that are so much more valuable to me that I am willing to concede my appointment as homemaker diva. Did you notice I said the appearance of a spotless home. I confess a spotless home is about the last thing I care about. Has anyone noticed that I blog about this a lot. Maybe I need therapy for feeling like I just don't fit in with the eager women who seem to enjoy this deed. My problem with cleaning is that it gets undone so quickly. I am task oriented, so when the very task I just finished is undermined right before me, it makes me cross eyed.

The truth is I am so rev'd up and passionate about so many things going on in my life right now, like writing, having fun, speaking, having fun, coaching, having fun, and loving life that I just can't be bothered with the worry. Did I mention that I would rather have fun. Can I hear an amen to that? Yahoo, my Eeyore days are over.

Forward Movement

We will never arrive at a given destination if we are unwilling to move. Only those who devote themselves to growth, will in fact grow in the direction they desire. Because I am never content to stay in the same place, when my turn came to read my non-stop-free-flow-writing in class, I pushed past my comfort zone and took the leap.

I am a futuristic person, my natural bent and one of my strengths is that I look toward the future. It's easy for me to envision the future as if it were projected on a wall. And being an activator, I am the one who is usually early for a meeting, saying "Are we ready to start?" I am always ready to take action, because it is the main ingredient necessary to bring about change and propel me forward.

Some are data and analysis driven. I certainly need those detail oriented people on my team, like my sweet husband, but I am all about action. That can be very frustrating if you don't want your world to be shuffled out of the same old routine. But for those who want more out of life and are willing to discover the possibilities it can be invigorating.

I didn't necessarily savor the critique of my precious words in writing class, but instantly took the information, made the adjustments and felt empowered with a new key to improve my writing skills. On my own I couldn't decipher my fondness and over use of metaphors, but the team, as it were helped me to make this advancement.

I am ecstatic about the forward motion a new year brings. There is a great opportunity to set into place room for growth, like a class, tele-conference, workshop, personal coaching, counseling, a mastermind group or whatever you can dream up to move you closer to where you want to be. Why not start the new year out with your own leap?

God Droplets

I was going along my merry way when all of a sudden, as if out of the sky God dropped a little heavenly inspiration. It was actually a reminder of what He had spoken to my heart years before. Sometimes God speaks and we blow it off not recognizing His presence. But I can't describe how it moves, rallies and inspires me, when I sense God stepping in to hang out.

In the years when I was a widow, desperately longing to be remarried, and wondering how in the world God could marry off a woman with four kids, the Lord popped in one day to encourage me. I was having wood floors installed in my kitchen when I noticed on the companies receipt it said, "Standing on the Promises." During that same week I received a card in the mail that said, "The promises of God are "Yes" and "Amen." God entered the scene to stir up my faith and encourage me with a promise He had placed in my heart long before.

Well God did it again. Yesterday I was talking to Him about some of my frustration with where I am now, and where I want to be. Suddenly refreshing droplets of inspiration fell. He began reminding me that He knew me before I was born and He had a unique plan that He was unfolding for my life. He reminded me that He had given me a message, called me to be a witness and He was on the scene and would instruct me.

Later that day, because I help write the weekly questions for the Home Group leaders to use about the weeks sermon, I received an email with the text for the Pastor's upcoming message. There God refreshingly sprinkled the text from Jeremiah 1:5-10, in my heart.

"Before I formed you in your mother's womb I knew you. Before you were born you were set apart." In the Message Translation it goes on to read, "I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there. I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it...I'll be right there looking after you...I've put my words in your mouth-hand delivered!...I've given you a job to do!"

Don't you love it when the Holy Spirit opens the word, confirms His heart and sounds a trumpet that says. "Don't think for a minute that I have forgotten you. You are in the palm of my hand."