Top Five Exercises For The New Year.... Let's GO!

Do you practice these exercises? I have turned them into an Olympic sport and I proudly own a Gold medal in each one.

About this time each year I do a review... I'm thinking you do a similar mental exercise.

I consider resolutions but I am a spontaneous, undisciplined creature... so I struggle here.

Last night however, it seems 8 of us promised to meet in a few months and run a 5k together. 

Other than that, my resolutions are more of a spiritual look back, look ahead exercise.

I look at the previous year and ask myself a few questions.

Where was I was spiritually, what was I struggling with, fearing, disobeying God's call on my life, regarding?

Where do I want to be a year from now... and how will I achieve that?

How will I make my plans and yet stay open to God's direction? I can't look ahead and see the whole plan... but I can trust that He has one and that I have a responsibility to seek Him.

He is faithful to open doors and trust me with more responsibility... if I move my feet of clay and walk into unknown territories, where He has called me to go.

It's really quite a great adventure...
If I choose the top five of my past I will miss the adventure.
I love adventure, especially when God is involved. He is the most creative, spontaneous, traveling partner I have known.
 Will you join me in this new year of adventure?
What is your plan and where do you see yourself a year from now?

The Next Chapter Is Here...

 Do you struggle with this?
I am learning that, I can't hang on to anything tighter than I hang on to God.

That may be the ticket right there... My hands can only hold so much, and the things they choose, slip easily through fingers...grasping to hold tightly, not wanting to let go, trust, believe.

Both good and bad chapters remind me... call to me.
Could have done better, tried harder, loved more.
Then God whispers my name, reminding me who I am to Him.
Redeemed, beautiful daughter of the Most High King.
He opens the book, a new chapter, one that I have not read, seems I would not have chosen... a mystery.
He offers it to me, to read, live, embrace and trust Him with the details.
The past year, full of new beginnings, also brought endings.
Each year will offer reasons to trust, turn the page, read ahead.
I have not enjoyed every chapter but I know I must always move these feet of clay forward, in this day... a gift.
Maybe this year has left you hungry for more life, or just hungry... because you are tired and battered. Breathe, look up and trust God with the next chapter.
He is faithful my friend.

Fit For A King...

Welcome this happy morning sweet baby Jesus. You arrived in the dark of night, to be the light of the world. 

Let us see this Christmas morning the mystery of You, the Christ Child... who became man, God with us.

Slow our hearts to see the beauty, redemption, power in your Holy Name.

You are God, the giver of life, our Redeemer, Confidant, the great Physician, Warrior, Prince of Peace.

Welcome Jesus, into our hearts today. 

Prepare a place in our soul that will hold you in the highest, seeking You new each morning.

Sent from my iPad

Wishing You A Hallelujah Christmas Eve Day...

Hoping You Don't Have A Charlie Brown Christmas...

 

 “I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?” 

–Charlie Brown about not receiving any Christmas cards.

                     

 Poor Charlie Brown.
The message that comes from his mouth, many times through crumpled heart thoughts... feeling unheard, unloved, even unnecessary. He shares words most of us have felt.

“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.” 

Charlie Brown

It's an easy trip to feeling unhappy and depressed.

We fall into the sentiment of Christmas instead the truth of Christmas. 

Sentiment doesn't help us celebrate Jesus birth. It focuses our celebration on family, food and gifts.

I love these things, but it is difficult to keep my focus on the true meaning of the season.

We try and create a picture of the perfect Christmas for our loved ones.

Truth is... sometimes our loved ones are far away.

Truth is... the perfect Christmas happened in a damp, cold, smelly barn.

 “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”  - Charlie Brown

Oh Charlie, you ask such a wise question.

I hope we know what Christmas is all about this season.

The birth of a Savior, who came to the world to redeem us... through His gift of life to us.

His Father.... GOD, sent this baby boy, His Only Baby... to come and live among us and be an example of love, grace and mercy.

Thank you God, for showing us Christmas... through Charlie Brown. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:9-14

Remembering Grace...

 

A couple times a month I treat myself.

 Three hard working ladies enter my front door early in the morning and they make my house shine.

I appreciate them.

They make my life easier. 

I don't see them except on these days. I don't know where they live, who their children are or where they worship. I wish I did, but I don't.

Maybe someday I will.

On a recent visit I was in my office when I heard a large crash.

I went into the hall to check on it and one of the gals pointed to the bedroom.

I quietly walked in and saw the gal in charge standing in the doorway to the bathroom. 

She was upset. She was talking to the younger girl, who was scooping up shattered glass. A lot of glass. 

I asked if she was okay?

Yes she mumbled... not looking me in the eye.

She was embarrassed. 

The in charge gal apologized as she reached for her phone. She was calling the office to report this "incident".

She was visibly upset... almost in tears.

Perhaps she thought the broken glass was expensive, irreplaceable, or maybe I would be upset or angry.

I touched her shoulder and asked her to put her phone away.

I told her it was okay. It was an accident. 

She calmed down, seemingly relieved.

I mentioned it to my husband that evening. He was glad to hear it ended quickly without repercussions. He would have been concerned that the amount might have been deducted from the young girls pay.

The value was about Twenty five dollars. 

Would it have mattered more to me if the item had been one hundred dollars, or one thousand?

Where is the line, when we decide we want restitution?

At what dollar amount do items become more important than people?
There is no amount or there shouldn't be.

My husband and I talked about this... I love that he loves people more than things.

It was a thing... pretty, but still, just a thing... which pretty much sums up most of the stuff we own.

I thought of the parable in Matthew 18:21-35 about the unforgiving debtor. The man is forgiven a large amount of money and then he goes out into the street and sees a man who owes him money and instead of forgiving him, he has him put in prison till he can repay the man.

Talk about ungrateful and unforgiving... after he had been forgiven.

When I had heard the crash I had just received a call from a Doctor. I had expected this call for two weeks. It was a good call, with good news as I had expected... but still, I was grateful.

Always a reminder to me of what is important in life.

I'm shown grace everyday... undeserved.

Would I have shown the same grace if it had been an injustice done to me, my husband, my children? How would I have responded? This time it was easy... I am not attached to stuff... mostly.

If I could fill my house with gold, silver, diamonds and filthy dollar bills...

Would those things make my life rich?

Would those things bring me joy?

Would I take them with me into eternity?  

Would they even matter at the end of my life?

No.

Relationships will make me rich, bring me joy, and will be the only thing that matters at the end of my life.

First... my relationship with God and then with others.

I wish I would always respond graciously, with love.

How do you respond when accidents happen? Do they ruin your day or are you over them quickly?

How do you show grace? 

Share your thoughts with me, so I will remember...

and season my words with love.

Give This Christmas...

I love this sentiment and pray I will hold it in my heart... all year long. The more we give, the richer our soul and heart becomes. Let's give this Christmas time... from our hands, hearts, deep down... where we find needs we had not known.  Look with open eyes and you will find ways to bless and grow love,  where there was pain, loneliness, fear. Reach past your loved ones and seek new hearts to love. They are all around us... do we see them?
How do you find ways to love like Jesus? Challenge us with new ways to reach out.

One Day At A Time...

 

 Perhaps today we need to think on this... One day at a time. 

Rest in this moment, not trying to figure out why. 

We will not understand why. 

Don't push your feelings aside, because they make you uncomfortable, raw, sick to your stomach.

These little ones deserve the moments... we feel,

the twisting, shredding of our hearts.

Seek truth and peace... in time. 

In Him.

Cry with those who cry. 

Mourn with those who mourn their losses today.

Hug those who hurt, who have been torn apart, left with empty arms, empty rooms, of little ones who will not laugh and spin and dance. Who will not open gifts that are wrapped and hidden, to be placed under the tree Christmas Eve.

There will be things in this life we do not understand. Tragedy, death, violence.

We are not meant to understand it all.

Through Adam and Eve sin entered Eden.

A choice was made by man. To go his own way, ignoring God's better way.

A brother would kill his own brother.

A mother mourned the loss of a son... by her son.

 Joy was taken from our world.

Evil replaced it.

 

Years later, God would send his one and only Son, Jesus our Redeemer.

He would bring back joy... in the midst of our suffering and pain. 

His birth, death and resurrection giving us freedom from evil.

When the dancing of little feet become silent on the floors of our home, they begin on the floors of heaven, where they tap, twirl and delight in His presence. They are welcomed into the arms of their Heavenly Father in a joyous celebration.

We mourn, oh how can we not mourn! Precious ones, given to us to love, protect, nurture and grow.

Then...

It is too hard...

So let us take this...

One day at a time, abiding in God.

 

Lord, bring us healing for our broken hearts.

Cover these parents in the shelter of Your Arms.

Heal their souls and spirits and may they seek Your Face each day.

Be real to them in ways they have not seen You before.

 

One day at a time.

Mourn With Those Who Mourn...

It is a long weekend of travel.
We are holed up in a Vegas hotel room today. The hubby and I .
Trying to rest in God, in the aftermath of this week.

It is not lost on me that my last post was a quote from C.S. Lewis.
See below...
Life changes and sometimes we are not ready.
I have lived that, many a day.

I would rather be home, lighting the advent candle this morning.
We are not gamblers, but we are here and we can still find advent, with or without candles because God is with us.

On Friday we sat in a Princeton, N.J. Library watching the horror unfold in Connecticut.
My personal world would remain intact, but my heart felt crumpled by a sledge hammer. Heavy, breath stealing emotion.
These precious babies and adults...
My husband's face turned dark. A kind soul, he was struggling with his own thoughts on this.
He still is.
He has seen enough violence and blood shed in his lifetime as a trauma surgeon in Newark.
There was never a good reason for someone coming in to his E. D. with a knife in his back or a bullet to his gut. Most were healed physically, but deep emotional wounds remained.

Our Friday plan was to take my in laws to see Lincoln. We went quietly, pondering the evil that had laid a thick coat of grief over our communities.
We watched previews that were violent and dark for 30 minutes. I leaned to my husband and mentioned the choices shown to this group of movie goers, where I seemed to be the youngest.
Surely none of us would be viewing these movies.
It seemed there was no escaping the darkness. Even in a theater that was supposed to entertain us.
That subject will be left for another post, another time.

For almost three hours we entered the world of a president who was passionate for freedom for all people. A view of the father and husband he was. Gentle, wise, passionate, unfaltering.

Again... this day showed the good mixed with the evil.
It surrounds us. We cannot escape it.

I think of my adult children.
A daughter who has chosen social work in a large city.
She visits homes where gangs are present, crime is violent and random.
I pray for her. I trust God's intervention and hand on her life.
If she was a teacher would she be safe?
Perhaps not.
Do I think she would shelter precious lives as the young teacher did in Connecticut?
Yes... a thousand times yes. And I would grieve her loss and be proud of her choice in the same breath.

I think of my son, who at 19 believes nothing can touch him. His everyday life puts him in harms way. That is the reality of a young man his age. The daily choices he makes, though not considered foolish, are still dangerous. I pray God's hand on this young man, whom I adore.

I will not try to understand this latest evil. I believe that to be a mistake. I do not want to understand something so heinous.
Instead, I will cling to my God, who hates evil and promises to comfort us in our distress.
We are told to mourn with those who mourn and that is what I shall do.
I will not try to fix this, understand this or point fingers.

Let us comfort one another today and point others to the Light of the World.
He will be our Comfort, our Healer, our Protector.

Things Change... God Doesn't

Funny how this is true.....
Things don't seem to change, but turn around and everything is different.
That's how life goes.
I'm so glad God stays the same.
His love is pure, full of grace and compassion.... yesterday, today and tomorrow.

What A Year .. All These dates To Remember

What a year... the Mayan calendar predictions and 12/12/12 within a week of each other.

We joke about dates, my son considers it a reason not to study for finals.

We say the world might end on 12/21/12 and we still wonder about the Mayans disappearance. 

News flash... they did not disappear. 

It's a hoax, just like the calendar predictions.

They've been hiding out in Vegas for years. 

Have you not seen the pyramids there?!

Next time your in Vegas, check out the entertainers. Tell me they don't look just like this guy.

The Mayans are actually returning in great number on the 21st, starring in The Radio City Christmas Show. 

Mayans, dropping it like a Rockette. 

Kicking it actually.

 Seriously...

 we spend lots of time on dates and times.

The date we ignore is our own.

The one that matters.

Our expiration date, not the worlds.

You might want to study for that test, kids.

Just saying. 

Have you made your plans for the future?

God's word speaks mysteries of life and future times.

Perhaps we should study His Book more than a Mayan calendar.

James 4:14 "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone."

John 8:12 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(This is key to preparing for our final departure.)

 Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

The world... or your world might end tomorrow... or next week.

Are you ready?

Holy Moly...

Some days we need a reminder like this. 

You might think of your husband or kids or boyfriend when you read the poster.

You feel this way about him, them, and hope the feeling is returned.

Now read the words and think about God... a little corny, a bit sweet too. 

Truth is, God thinks of us as the apple of His eye.

Pretty amazing right?

Enjoy this phrase, let it roll around on the tongue a bit, look up and give God a smile.

You might hear an, "Oh My."

Advent... Dont Let It Get Away.

Three purple, one pink, one white. 

Just candles.

But they remind us. A visual reminder of Christmas. This is the one that draws me back, to the original meaning. 

The meaning I struggle to celebrate.

In truth, this tradition of candles may have been borrowed from pagans, signifying the hope of the sun returning in the midst of winter.

I get that.

Christians turned it to a symbol of preparation for the Christ child.

Four Sundays, four candles.

Four opportunities to be still.

Candle of Hope... God's promises to us.

Candle of Preparation... reminding us to get ready for God. He is coming.

Candle of Joy... reminding us of the angels proclaiming the birth of Christ.

Candle of Love... reminding us that God loved us enough to send His only Son to earth.

Finally, The Christ Candle... white, the color of purity, reminding us of Christ.

Most of my church history neglected traditions or symbols from the church calendar. 

We did Christmas and Easter.

I thought this was okay, even good. Not getting lost in traditions and symbolism. 

Funny thing is, you can still get lost.

I realize that I need reminders. 

To call me back, slow me down, quiet my heart and think on the reason for this season.

I am grateful for this reminder and how my husband and I create this on Sunday morning.

Simple candles, but how full of meaning they are when words are spoken from God's word and prayers are offered up to Him. 

How do you prepare for this Holy season of Advent?

 

 

Just Do Your Best... And Remember, As The Needs Arise He Supplies

(My boy, doing his best)

I am connecting with women in my new community. 

I should not be surprised as this has been a prayer... one of the biggest.

It is also one of the reasons I journal. 

So I remember.

Which reminds me...

 I am in a book club. First one ever. 

Surprised? 

Me too. 

I have never been in a Bunko group either.

I'm kinda hurt really.

 How am I not good enough to join your dumb bunko group?

I would probably quit after 3 times if you want to know the truth.

I would find it tedious, a waste of time.

Book clubs are different. They challenge us to think outside the box.

 We met last night. 

We were charged with bringing ideas for books for the next few months. This group is diverse and smart, so I figured they would do fine without my Sams Club top ten list.

We have writers, artists, teachers, an ex pat, who recently moved from Belgium to Wichitawesome. Really... poor gal. 

And others... all interesting and funny.

They were talking about books they had read as a group, and for a moment they struggled to recall the names, plots, characters.  

It's funny if you think about it.

At one point I blurted, "Well, why do we bother reading. Let's just eat cake." 

Yes, I really said that.
Perhaps this book club needs a journal.

 We don't always remember do we? 

The good stuff anyway.

 We manage to hold on to the bad.

This morning I did remember.

God's faithfulness.

I read...

 "Seek first the kingdom of heaven;

set your desires wholly to obtain the riches of God,

and all other things shall be freely supplied as the needs arise."

Come Away My Beloved- Francis J Roberts

As the needs arise, He supplies...

He is bringing fulness to my life again, through new opportunities and people.

Opportunities to engage with women through one on one relationships, study groups, corporate worship, speaking and writing opportunities.

There were moments I doubted.

Sometimes I retreated inwardly, telling myself lies.

I wasn't good enough. 

I did not have anything to offer.

He has a way of drawing us back to Him, reminding us of His truths. 

Those days of doubt, we stuck together. 

He didn't leave me.

I complained. 

He was faithful.

I read a book recently about an Olympic Athlete, in the decathalon. That is 10 events in track and field. 

Brutal. He won the Gold in Beijing. 

He said God spoke to Him in his moments of doubt, when he wanted to quit because he believed he wasn't good enough.

He felt this often.

He told God he was done with this brutal, crazy sport. 

He couldn't take it, the pressure, the physical pain, the injuries and exhaustion.

In the silence he heard God speak to him...

Bryan, I do not expect you to be perfect. I just expect you to do your best.. I'll make it good enough.

God says that to us.

Do your best. You don't have to be perfect.

I'll make it good enough.

Remember...

God is perfect... so we don't have to be.

 We just have to do our best.

As the needs arise, He supplies.