YOU ROCK!

I’ve been speechless on the pages of my blog recently—not because I wanted to be—but because other jobs and writing tasks have taken precedence.   Yet, my heart has longed to write and God used this time to both remind and renew this passion…mission…vision.  I was reminded of when God first birthed this desire and gift of writing from within.

I write so that my joy may be complete (1 John 1:4) and similarly to speaking, I write in praise of the LORD.  (Psalm 145:21). 

What do you do that brings joy to your heart and praises our King? 

A princess follows this path of praise and joy, don’t you think?  And not all of our desires and gifts are alike.

As I am writing this; the only thing that I audibly hear speaking is my washing machine; and I realize that in the loud hustling noises of our busy days it is a choice to turn up the volume and hear our King’s voice speaking to our hearts.  

Are we listening? 

As I carried the load of laundry down the hallway, my eyes highlighted a card taped to the door of my son’s room.  I know I have passed by this many times; yet today the Lord has something to say and He used this moment that my hands were full and my mind was racing with my busy to do list.  It was as if God hit the pause button on my moving feet and stirring mind and caused me to read the card on the door that I had previously given to my son and he since altered. 

Then I heard His whisper, “See how your boy has taken the words and made them His own.  Take my Word and make them your own and keep speaking my Word.” 

My heart was instantly rocked! 

As a child, I grew up in a home where encouraging words were few and I often wonder—am I now going over board with encouraging words. Maybe a silly thought?  But one can feel as if she is on a deserted island and alone in her thoughts from time to time.   

I desire for my children to aspire their dreams and believe that with God’s blessing, they may become anything that they desire.  If they want to be the next US President—may it be so—but then I know in reality there is only 1 president chosen in the United States every four years….you know what I mean?  

Yet, how many times have I seen the damage to a growing heart or dream with the mere absence of encouraging words.  Ironically, our mouths can be so quick to spout out some crass, crude humor—but an encouraging word shackles our mouths shut. 

Do you ever withhold an encouraging comment?

            *Do you fear sounding silly?

            *Do you fear that someone will think they are better than you?

            *Do you fear feeling less than?

            *Do you fear creating a pride monster?

            *What do you fear?  What keeps you silent?

It takes courage to encourage.

My heart cries out quietly from my chest, “Help me Lord.” 

Then as if to answer in concert…rockin’ my heart…I see the importance of embracing and owning the truth! 

I am reminded of reading Isaiah 41:10 earlier…and this is how I am choosing to own it:

I do not fear—for God is with me.

God strengthens me and helps me.

What Word did you make your own today?

May we be willing and allow God to use our mouths and our words to rock the hearts of those around us.

“My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.  Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.”  Psalm 145:21

More Playful...yes or no?

“God is more playful than we are?”  Eldrdedge states plainly in his book, “Beautiful Outlaw.”

Do you agree? 

I have to and am asking God to reveal this part of His personality to me these next coming weeks.  It’s as if I am saying Yes…I believe it…show me more so I can say Yes with even more emphasis.  Kind of like the heart of the man in the Gospels who exclaimed his desire to believe at the same time asking for help with his unbelief.

I was listening to the Girflriendit Radio and conversing with some new cyber girlfriends—crazy thankful that during this time with a toddler again when my days are full of chasing little feet that I can still connect with new friends.

My new friend encouraged me to pick up this book and chat about it online.  Do you want to join us? 

I’m excited to write about what God brings about as we read and are encouraged to see more of Jesus.  As I sit here typing I sense the beckoning of our loving God and my boy’s toy penguin is flapping and wiggling to the beat of a near by fan.

Hmmmm…I wonder what will be flapping and wiggling in my heart this week to the beat of Jesus.  Do you see His playfulness?

One-Two-Threeeeee!

“One-Two-Threeeeeeee!” It was such a brief moment but as I pushed my little guy in his stroller on a walk this morning I sensed God reminding me to embrace and focus on His love and joy! 

I was distracting my little boy from his desire to be out of the confines of his stroller; and as my little guy smiled with delight from my great distraction technique. I got the message.  Keep going.  Stay focused on the joy I have for you.

I too have moments like my little boy that I want to cry out with frustration of where I am at any given moment.  And just like I encouragingly distracted my boy with a, “One-two-threeeeeeeee!” and a zip of a push –my God is doing the same and taking me on a wild ride—distracting me from the things I could so easily become frustrated and crying about—when I let Him. 

Stay focused on what’s ahead—“One, Two, Threeeee!”  I sensed God smiling and zipping me around on our walk showing me the birds, chirping in the trees and the wind wrestling through the trees and even the occasional car zooming down the road. 

My sis using another distraction technique
on my boy while he was sitting in his stroller another time
--that brought both of them joy!

As my boy smiled more and more, I saw he was content to sit in his stroller and enjoy the ride.  Oh, how I want to enjoy this ride..don’t you?

What helps you stay focused on joy and enjoy the ride of life? 

How about trying this the next time you sense irritations beginning to rob you of joy and the peace of His loving presence in this ride of life. Write down this three-letter word on a piece of paper, “JOY!”  Post it wherever you will see it often during the day to remind you what God wants to give you for yourself and for you to share on this ride.  Then with your biggest kid-like voice, zip on into the day exclaiming, “One, Two, Threeeeee!”

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. “ (Psalm 16:11 NLT)

Feed the Panini to the Ducks!

“Panini!”  We giggled and talked  about this squished grilled sandwich on a recent road trip.

I don’t normally crave bread—I just don’t—don’t hate me.  But I have found myself thinking about it often these past few days and remembering this one deli I visited often with some former co-workers years ago…oh they served up a yummy Panini! 

While driving home from a retreat, my girlfriend and I were talking about a story we had heard recently and how the characters in the story reflected our lives in a way.  Panini was the name that just kept coming out when we couldn’t remember the antagonist’s name, Peninnah in the story of 1 Samuel. 

You see Panini had it and Hannah didn’t—but Panini wasn’t satisfied with what she had, and her blessing of many children surely didn’t keep her busy enough that she had extra energy to taunt Hannah.  Maybe Panini’s heart was squashed much like a real Panini sandwich when she saw the favor her husband, Elkanah showed Hannah.  Maybe seeing this favor reigning from the Lord on Hannah, turned up the heat in Panini’s heart stirring up all kinds of evil and jealousy; causing Panini to ooze out all kinds of messy emotions and words. 

Is there a Panini in your life?  Are you acting like Panini?  (We are capable of both)

Can you handle seeing another granted favor and be truly happy for them—even encourage them and help them?

I know at times Panini’s hot, messy, squashed heart may resemble mine especially when I am focused on comparing my life with someone else’s, and not fully believing and living out who I am in Christ. 

I also have experienced a Panini or two squishing and oozing their mess a little too close to my heart.   It is not pretty and just so unexpected.

What do we then do with that?

Have you like Hannah found yourself praying out of great anguish and grief?  Journal pages and hard pavement have been good places for me to pound out the Panini pain.

It hurts to be squished by or like a Panini.   A Panini can squash with harsh words, looks of disdain or maybe there are no words at all to communicate disapproval—sometimes the absence of our encouraging words hurt the most.  Or maybe, it is the ‘un-friend’ action on Facebook, or the absence of that ‘like’ or comment on your Facebook post, right??  (Seriously, we need to live beyond Facebook, but it’s there isn’t it?) 

In the midst of Hannah’s hurt, it says she stood up—and, “…wept much and prayed to the LORD.”  (1 Sam 1:10)  Don’t you just love that—she had the courage to stand and talk with her God in the midst of it all!  Sometimes all I want is a good cry in my pillow. 

This reminds me of what I heard singer/songwriter Beckah Shae say on Girlfriendit Radio a few weeks back, “To see yourself the way that God sees you is the beginning to freedom.”   (You can listen to the podcast of the "Put Your Love Glasses On," show here).

The words stood up and stand is rising up above the page for me both in my Bible and in my head as I think about the truth in Beckah Shae’s comment.  Freedom to stand…YES!

Stand firm, then…(Galations 5:1)

Stand at the crossroads…(Jer 6:16)

Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the LORD…(Exodus 14:13)

I can’t help but giggle a little as I picture this truth of standing up and believing we are who God says we are, not what some squashed sandwich may express to us…really?!? 

I’m not sure why the word Panini has stuck with me these last couple of weeks, but I’m giggling and I think this is good because like Patty and Lisa also talk about on their radio show, laughter is needed to diffuse the pain and it helps us not water the seed of pain allowing anger and bitterness to grow.  If you wanna get your teary-eyes off the pillow and  laugh some more, keep listening to this particular show, for Patty and Lisa chat with comedian Kerri Pomarolli next…she is a hoot and literally stands up for truth!  

It’s time to stand up girls—seek our God who loves us and has great things for us and take that Panini sandwich and feed it to the birds!  

(Or like me, the ducks I saw on my walk this morning—God loves me this I know, for He reminded me this morning to quit giving the Paninis in my life any volume and feed the Panini to the ducks!  And God loves me no less or no more than He loves you—no joke!)

More and More!

Have you ever just wanted to just throw your arms up—you know give up and quit???

Life can be hard sometimes.  I realized these last few weeks that something or maybe someone or some-thought has been tugging on my heart-my to do list-my brain…

My to do list keeps growing with cares and concerns and God keeps bringing me assignments all the while growing me and allowing me to partake in some awesome new experiences.  In the busyness of the moment I am tempted to say things like, “I can’t do this,”  “This is too hard,” “I’m not cut out for this,” “I want to stop-quit-return to a quiet life.” 

As I realize my nature, my true self prone to run away from what God has for me at times, I see my little boy all this week determined more and more to walk; more and more to get up after each fall, more and more to throw his hands up in surrender and thus smiling more and more. 

This all reminds me of my new nature-my new self being renewed because of Christ…more and more. (Col 3:10)

When Jesus has the wheel of our locomotive—it is a wild ride!  God has been showing me recently what it looks like to have peace like a river (Isaiah 66:12). 

We had some family photos taken this weekend and I had some time to just pause and stare at some fast-flowing water falling down a small bed of rocks.  I recognized my energetic toddler was mesmerized for a moment with the flowing water and we both paused. 

For a moment—every care from the week behind and the week ahead dissipated in the rushing water and I knew Jesus was close—I felt His Presence and His Peace.   

His peace He gives us—even amidst the chaos of this life. 

If I look at my to do list this week, I sense my heart begin to race a little bit.  Can any one else relate?

Something in me is nudging me to cry out His name…Jesus is here and will help me.

I think I am going to go run into my closet where no one else can see me and just throw up my arms in sweet surrender. 

Go on…you do the same.  Let’s enjoy this ride of life, no matter how hard it is—no matter how scary and fast flowing the rapids become—Let’s live determined to enjoy this life and smile more and more!

In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.

(Col 3:10 NLT)

Keep Going!

“What was that?”  My boy commented on the loud-jet engine noise coming from some space in the air.  It sounded as if there was a large aircraft overhead but nothing could be seen and my boys looked dumbfounded—it didn’t make sense to them.

Especially my little toddler who is learning to point out the airplanes overhead; the look on his face was priceless.  (Wish I would have captured it for you; but my phone was buried at the bottom of the diaper bag at the time).

Content brothers.

My boy's look resonated with something in my heart as I noticed him resolve to let go of the question and sat content on the blanket with his brother on the field…this moment, I was able to capture. 

In recent years, I’ve asked God on quite a few occasions, “What was that?” 

Can you relate?  Have you felt God recently lead you down a path with an open door in sight;  yes-in sight…you can just feel the YES and smell the victory.  Only to be left baffled at the end of the journey with a shut door.

I don’t understand it completely still…but I am thankful for God’s Word and little nudges from Him continually that point me to how loved I am (especially when rejection floods my thoughts when standing at a shut door).   In my pursuit of God continually, I find much hope believing in God and believing who I am in Christ…someway-somehow—I find the gumption to not only stand but walk on. 

I feel like these last few years have been full of both open doors and shut doors.  And I ‘m learning that I don’t always understand; but there is a purpose and a plan for even the shut doors.

I read in Jeremiah 35 this week and God showed me how Jeremiah heard from the Lord and was asked to invite over a family—the Recabites. The Lord then said, “give them wine to drink.”  (verse 2).  Jeremiah got the tables all set up with the wine and invited them over; only to have them turn down the wine.   

Oh, I don’t want to claim to understand all that God’s Word is teaching us here; but I found myself relating to Jeremiah.   I have felt on several occasions that I heard from the Lord similarly some sort of action, only to find those around me turn down my offer. 

My heart was comforted realizing that like me; Jeremiah was asked to do something that led to a shut door; and ‘the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.”

Are you like me and think that if things didn’t turn out; we must not have heard right, or from God at all? 

I wish I could read Jeremiah’s journal entry for that night.  Do you think he doubted that the initial word came from the Lord?  Don’t we easily get trapped into thinking that if we heard from God it must work out smoothly and our paths must be full of YESES AND OPEN DOORS?

I’ve even heard some good Bible teachers speak about learning whether it is a ‘good idea’ or a ‘God idea.’ 

In my limited thinking I can get stuck believing that if it doesn’t work out—it must not have been a ‘God idea;’ and I sense God nudging me to do away with this thinking!  

What if God’s idea was all along for us to walk and see them turn down the offer just as Jeremiah was to offer what God already knew they would  turn down?

Oh, my heart finds so much freedom in this.   I’m instantly flooded with recent memories of being just stumped—feeling that God nudged me down various paths only to find my heart and head confused with the resulting backdrop.

It doesn’t matter how the NO came into my life—or how hard the door slammed; or how disappointing the diagnosis—God never left me and with every NO, door slam and diagnosis I can look back and still see Him. 

I even see Him amidst the NOs and doors and diagnoses; revealing YESES, opening doors and other relationships.   And most importantly, I have felt His nudges to embrace the truth that I am loved and to keep going!

God encouraged me even more as I also read, 2 Tim 4:5…may it encourage you and empower you to keep going as it did me and let's choose to trust and be like those content brothers. 

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.

Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.

Work at bringing others to Christ.

Complete the ministry God has given you.

(NLT)

Hmmmm....And A Smile!

Calgon...you can finish that right?

What a week it has been...and I am tired.  I wish this week would have panned out differently...and I had TONS of inspiration for writing flowing through my veins.  I love days like that!

This week, sickness swept our house and there has been just enough time for me to   rest, disinfect and get done the work I needed to do.  

I feel like I missed out on a lot this week...
*girl time with some new neighborhood friends
*the last night of my women's Bible Study
*a date night with my hubby
*a night with our small group

The feeling reminds me of another time when to my utter surprise...things just were not going as I had planned...or as I had hoped.

Disappointment. 

I don't want to read too much into these moments but I recognize that things like this just force me to pause and go hmmmm....

My boy uttered a constant hmmmmmmmm....this week often while in the bath tub splashing about and in those moments when he did not feel well he still cracked a smile and you would have wondered how terrible he felt inside.

It reminded me that when life brings swells of disappointment in our sea of life, with waves crashing to and fro...we have the power to pause because we are loved!

We can take a deep breath and say, "hmmmmmmm...."

This week God reminded me while watching my boy in the bath tub, that when life brings a pause or a surprise (good or bad) we have a choice; we can embrace one of two attitudes..."I am unloved-forgotten-unwanted"(you fill in the blank) and sink in the the sorrow of our seas or we can ride the waves and find our  "splashing' smile' from within because we are "LOVED!"  God's love gives us strength.

What do you bring into your life--your heart to give you strength?

One of the things that encourages me each week is listening to Girlfriendit Radio for they continually point me to truth and inspire me to seek how to live out my faith!

The show this week is titled, "Rock Your Smile" and they chat about recognizing what makes us smile from the inside out...AND...How are you sharing that?

I took away a great nugget of truth from the show this week...

Mary Rice Hopkins shared one of her life truths that resonated with my heart:

She spoke of how Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free.  Because of Christ's sacrifice, we are given a garment of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness that so often comes our way.

Is your heart heavy this week?

Do you believe Jesus wants to replace that heaviness with a garment of praise?

Are you wearing it?

Someone might just need to see you wearing it this week and God might just be nudging you to smile from the inside out.

Hmmmmmm.....makes you smile, doesn't it?