life today

How about focusing on the day's itty bitty joys instead of its sorrows? How 'bout making some fun mud pies with the mud the world flings at ya? Let's give it a shot.

The breeze today felt beachy and the temperature was perfect. The grass was smooth and soft on bare feet. Friends gathered to talk about love, life, Jesus. Big kids helped little kids. Hot Yummy pizza. Playing with arts and crafts to create mini mosaic masterpieces. Baseball. Dance. Jr. High Youth group. Balloons from the dollar store. Homemade chocolate chip cookies. When you put it like that, the day doesn't look so bad after all, does it?

Growing in Joy (some more)

I have a feeling that God is up to something under the surface in my heart. He is growing Joy. Not the joy from some warm fuzzy feeling, or the joy from a happy sunny day, or the joy from a child's laughter or the joy of a new born babe. Nope. This joy is different. It is like a fullness and assurance of hope. It is the presence of Jesus with me. It is his hug to me, his gentle encouragement, his reminder of undying love. It is Him being my comfort in pain. Him giving me rest. Him lighting my path, guiding my steps. It is Him walking with me. Him sharing my hurt, bearing my burden. Him fellowshipping with me. No, I am not worthy. But somehow, in his heart of hearts, God made a way. Jesus. He came to me. He remains. He will forever be. He is life. He is the fullness. He is the Joy. And He is MINE. Beloved, do you know Him?

Advice for the New Bride

I have a dear friend that is getting married next month and I would like to gather some pearls of wisdom if anybody would like to share what God has taught them through their marriage.

Let's do a popcorn discussion and share on a few topics :)

I will give it a go: What was the one thing that you struggled with early on in your marriage? How have you grown past that struggle?

Bringing it all to Our Father (women of Faith, cont)

We LOVED Shiela Walsh! She was so authentic and open in her pursuit of Christ. She began her session after Marcus Buckingham had shared. She started with, "Yes, find our strength....and then Bring it all to Our Father! Am I giving 100% to God? All that I am and all that I have?

Shiela spoke of Mary and Martha and how they did not see why Jesus would be late when their brother was dying. The story is an example of how God is all-powerful and also all-loving.

Has Jesus interrupted your schedule? There are no coincidences. Instead of getting frustrated, ask God what He is teaching you in that moment. When God messes with your schedule, look for the miracle tucked within. ex. Lazarus' death John 11:1-6.

Jesus loved them and then waited 2 days--he didn't go to them immediately when he heard Lazarus was ill.

Lazarus dies and they put him in the tomb, and they were devastated.

John 11:9 shows us a correct response in walking with Jesus, "I am going nowhere until I get the green light from My Father." God will give peace that the time is now. Mary and Martha's response to Jesus was, "Where were you?"

Jesus was troubled.

All these troubles were never supposed to happen, never planned.

Jesus wept. You have never cried a tear that Jesus has not wept with you. What a Savior!

Jesus feels it deeply when we are suffering. Jesus tells Martha, "Trust me."

Jesus calls Lazarus: "It's this way out..."

Jesus never shows up too early or too late. He walks with us even when we don't understand why we are going though what we are going through and He will walk us all the way home on this journey.......and when we see him face to face, it will be worth it!!!!!!!

Women of Faith~on your strengths

Marcus Buckingham shared about how we should try to find where we are strong and focus on spending more time on those things than on where we are weak. He defined a strength as an activity that makes you feel strong. He used the acronym: SIGN for

S=success

you feel effective

I=Instinct

You instinctively look forward to your day

G=Growth

During your day, you frequently feel inquisitive and focused

N=Needs

At the end of the day you feel authentic and invigorated

He suggested we go about one week noting the things that we do and placing them in categories: loved it/ loathed it

This will reveal which activities invigorate me and which ones don't.

This activity should conclude with some "strength statements" which would be ideas of where we should spend more focused time and energy, because God gifted us to be used in these specific areas.

He stated 4 beliefs: God blessed every one of us with strengths

Not one of us is just like the other

We will be blessed when we find our perfect way and play to our best

most of the time.

Everyone wins when you do: you, your family, the church and the country!

He concluded his message with : My strengths are God's will~let Him use me and let God's will be done!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~We had a few interesting conversations after this presentation. Some of us felt that it was not Christ-centered enough to stimulate us to worship and know and love Christ better (which I am assuming is the underlying purpose of the Women of Faith conference!). I am in conflict in my response. I can see good and bad in the message. I agree that God has given us all spiritual gifts to be used in the body of Christ. I also agree that we should strive to use these gifts in order to give God glory. What I would have liked to have heard is something like this: Wherever I am strong and fruitful, it is Christ doing His work and living in me! Give God all the glory. It is a slippery slope when we start talking about our strengths and do not put our value and personal worth in the context as being fallen human beings dependent on God's grace and strength, and His presence in the Holy Spirit, to accomplish God's will on earth. Any greatness or beauty or brilliance that we see in our own lives or in the lives around us, are evidence of God's good pleasure in making Himself known in and through his creation. We are made "in his image."

I like to think of us running the race in our giftedness as the athlete ran for God in Chariot's of Fire. He said, "when I run, I feel his pleasure." It is not all about me. It is all about God and His Kingdom and His Glory, and yes, His Pleasure. Is He pleased with me?

I believe He is pleased when we do our best for Him. We work hard to honor Him in all we do. We praise Him in our strengths (and give Him credit) and we call on Him to be our strength where we are weak.

The conclusion of the matter is this: Wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we do it for the glory of God. We are His people and we work for Him. Our lives should reflect more and more of an humility of spirit that says "whatever you want, Lord! Your will be done." We should look for opportunities to serve others and be a blessing to them, remembering that its not about how good we are or what great works we have done, but about How Awesome HE IS and How we are NOTHING without HIM!

Amen?

Eat, Pray, Love Part Three

Okay, I never would have imagined a chick flick could inspire so much stimulating conversation. Here is a snapshot of me and my friend Angie at dinner before seeing Eat, Pray, Love. We are celebrating my birthday, along with my friend Daryl's! Sweet to go out and celebrate with friends!!!! What is it about this movie that draws women in? And why in the world are we thinking about it days later? I think it has something to do with the heart. Like Bridges of Madison County, or Sleepless in Seattle, or even Steel Magnolias; when you touch a girl's emotions, you are treading deep waters. Watch out!!
I am also guessing some man coined the old adage: "don't discuss religion or politics." Somehow he knew we would get too fired up. That's why a conversation about our feelings or our faith can be so intense. Because we feel strongly. And our feelings reflect our hearts.
Not to beat a dead horse with this contemporary movie craze, but it is the chosen template for discussion. I think we have found a new friend. Liz Gilbert. That's her name. The woman we met at Eat, Pray, Love. We liked her because she was real. She ate pizza. We didn't like her because she didn't embrace life where she was. She ran away from her life to "make" a new one. She went running in some direction to find herself, and to look for God. She wanted love; love for herself, love from God and the love of another person. She searched for forgiveness, because she felt so guilty for leaving her marriage; and guilty for leaving her subsequent love affair? She searched for peace, wanting to find a safe, quiet place where she could get away from her self-loathing and figure out how to love herself. And she opened herself up to "love" again; falling into a relationship with a man she felt she could trust. Now, let's talk to Liz. If she were my real life friend, sitting at my kitchen counter at midnight, first I would tell her how much I LOVE her highlights, and second, I would make sure we have a lot of time, because, GIRL, we need to talk!!!!

Where have you been? What are you running from? Yes, I know you are the girl who has always had a boyfriend since you were fifteen, and have never faced this life alone. You have defined yourself by what you looked like, what you wore, what boys thought of you. You decided your identity based on what your friends said you were. And now what makes you think you can be someone different?
......and forgiveness! Girlfriend, you left a perfectly suitable husband in the dust! You should feel bad. You broke your vows. You deeply injured someone that you loved. He may figure out someday how to forgive you, but how can you forgive yourself? Where will you find that power?
And, who do you think you are fooling in this quest for spirituality and religion all of the sudden. Your new little boyfriend really got you looking into some strange stuff this time!!! What are you looking for? Do you want help from God or do you just want to hear that YOU are OKAY. You are not that bad. You have the right to do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever feels good. There's no right or wrong with relationships. Go with it. Follow your heart. You want to hear that you are a good person and you are justified in doing what you have done.

First of all, the way you have always lost yourself in relationships with guys was just a cover up. You were searching for love and acceptance that you couldn't find anywhere. You wanted attention and affection. If a guy liked you, then you must have been good enough, right? Well, wrong. You were looking for prince charming in all those guys faces, including your husbands, but HE WAS NOT THERE.
Second, you found your value in what people thought of you. If you were pretty or funny or smart enough then you felt worthy. Your worth is not based on what any MAN or WOMAN thinks of you.
Third, you went searching for 'god' or 'truth' or some "way" of living that would bring you peace. Did you find it? Are you content now? Are your questions answered and have you found the direction in life that you were looking for? Do you now know your purpose? Are you settled with where you are in life and ready to embrace what role you have chosen for yourself? What if it doesn't work out with Mr. Handsome-Wounded-Lover and you end up unhappy again?
Yes. We have a LOT to talk about.

Eat, Pray, Love Number two

I forgot to go back to the ball of wax and the can of worms. This is how I see the movie affecting those who watch it. I don't think we can watch this movie without putting ourselves and our lives into the picture. Our lives could be parallel to hers, or entirely different. We might see ourselves in some things that she thinks or says or does. Or we might remember being in an emotional place similar to hers. On some level, we engage in the process of her journey. We bounce back and forth from her reality to our own. It was almost distracting how often my thoughts drifted away from what was "happening" in the movie, to what was happening in me, my life, in real time. I remember thinking in the middle of the film that I will have to see it again, I have missed much. But I think the richest part of the experience was processing her journey on a personal level. Reflecting on my youth, my passions, my dreams, my marriage, my family, and yes, my relationship with GOD.
However, I think this movie could be dangerous for some women who are in a hurting place emotionally and are looking for any role model on how to get through life. The answers offered in the movie are not in agreement with biblical Christianity.
The Bible calls the sinner to repent.
The Bible tells us to have no other gods.
The Bible points us to Jesus. Always. Only.
The Bible is the source of all truth. It is God's revealed word.
Jesus is the living word of God.
There is no truth apart from God's truth. God's truth is seen in creation, in scripture, and in Christ incarnate. And then his truth abides in us, if we abide in Him.
We can't create our own truth. All of our reality is in the hands of God. We can acknowledge that, or not. That decision makes all the difference.