Pain is always telling us something if we’re listening. Lately, the blister I developed on my left pinky toe was telling me I needed to invest in a new pair of shoes.
The problem with pain is you have to feel it in order to hear what it’s telling you. Ignoring it won’t work, numbing it only lasts momentarily and running from it is awfully tiring. Continue reading “What is Your Pain Telling You?”
Self reflection can be tiring, but I would assume fairly essential to recognizing what in life may need changed. So this is the question I’ve been chewing on lately. Do I turn to the right “things” when life is hard? When I’m overwhelmed? When I’m ______ (you can fill in the blank).
More importantly, I have been examining what my initial reactions are…what’s my default position when the going get’s tough? Who or what do I turn to when I need comfort? Continue reading “What Does Your Pain Drive You To?”
Excuses. I’m pretty good at convincing myself and others around me. I have come up with lot’s of reasons over different seasons about why I could not go after what God was calling me to do. Let’s see…I’ve been too busy, too single, too female, too fat, too quiet, too…. Go ahead, fill in the blank.
What are your excuses? What makes you not enough? What keeps you from going for all God has for you? What do you allow to count you out? Continue reading “What’s Your Excuse?”
Ok, how many of you are singing in your head now? Love me some Stevie Wonder! Somewhere in my childhood memories, I remember my dad calling in to the local radio station, MIXX 96.1, where in response to his melodious on air delivery of the lyrics, “I just called to say, I love you, I just called to say how much I care, I just called to say, I love you and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”. Well, in response to that he won a fairly large supply of Diet Coke! It was a day of celebration in our household!!
Now, I can’t promise that your proclamation of love for someone will win you Diet Coke, but I do believe it will spread lot’s of goodness around. It is so easy in life to know inside that we love others, but how often do we on purpose, tell them? When was the last time, you called them just to say “I love you”? Continue reading “I Just Called To Say I Love You”
I don’t know that any aspect of my life is as I thought it would be when I was younger. It is not at all the picture I had in my mind. This truth has been the source of some, o.k., a lot of heartache and questioning for me. As I have wrestled with God over the years about the disparity between the life I wanted and the life I have, I think I have learned and continue to learn a few things that I hope will encourage you if you find yourself in a life script that you would not have written for yourself.
Be Happy Today – Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t wait until you’ve finished. Don’t wait until you’ve arrived. Don’t wait until the finish line. Celebrate today. Give thanks today. Rejoice over progress not just completion. Life is happening now, embrace it.
Your Circumstances Don’t Define You – Oh, society will scream loudly and well intending people will label you, but you are so much more than your circumstances. Continue reading “Lessons I’ve Learned From A Life That Didn’t Go As Planned”
This question popped into my mind today…what does love look like? It’s easy to quickly think of a Hallmark movie, where two people overcome the odds, kiss in the last scene of the movie and end up living happily ever after. Now don’t get me wrong, this girl LOVES a Hallmark movie, however, I think we cheat ourselves and others when we limit love to a romantic tale that can begin and end in a 2-hour story line. Love is so much more than a nanny who has a plot twist and becomes a princess.
I think love takes time. It is faithful and growing. It keeps showing up day after day, week after week, year after year, in the good, the bad and the in between.
I think love is sacrifice. It’s more than chocolates and roses, it’s giving time and attention to someone else, its choosing what makes them feel loved because their happiness is also yours.
I think love is action. Words are nice but they alone won’t do when it comes to love. Love responds. Love gets up and shows up, love fights for what’s right and lends a hand in times of need. Love is a verb. Continue reading “What Does Love Look Like?”
I always have this image of the perfect Christmas in my mind. A beautifully decorated tree, a wonderfully hosted party, homemade Christmas goodies, thoughtful gifts for all, family gathered round, carols by candlelight and lots of Christmas cozy. I am sure my visions of the “perfect” Christmas come from too many Hallmark movies and too much Pinterest surfing because the “perfect” Christmas has proven to be completely elusive.
Christmas in reality is, I run out of time and energy to get it all done and I focus full-time on trying to keep my Christmas peace in the midst of the busyness and chaos and I have an ache in my heart that always tends to grow a little stronger this time of year. Perfect is hard to accomplish but messy seems quite achievable! Continue reading “Happy Merry Messy Christmas”
At Christmas time we celebrate the gift of God’s presence when He came that first Christmas day born as a baby. The gift of God’s mind blowing plan to send His one and only son to the world to be present with us, to live life and give His life for ours so that we can live together forever is so amazing!
Presence matters to God because relationship matters to God. As we celebrate at Christmas the amazing love that came down from heaven for us, I want to talk about the gift of your presence as well.
1 John 4:10-11. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
Our #1 mission in life as Christ followers is to show the love of God to those around us and one of the best ways we can do that is by simply being present.
What might look different about the next few weeks of “hustle and bustle” if we cared less about the to do list, about the shopping, about making everything just right and fitting everything in and concerned ourselves more with being present with those around us? As you seek to find the perfect gifts for those you love, consider that what they might want from you are not presents, but Presence. Continue reading “Presence Not Presents”
At Christmas time we talk a lot about presents, what people want, maybe what they want Santa to bring and we add these wanted items to our shopping list, but God has been chatting with me about a different kind of present, P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E.
If there was no Jesus, there would be no Christmas. His presence in this world, Him coming to the scene, being born so He could die for us means everything.
“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name, Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14
Jesus’s presence and arrival on this earth is the very reason why we celebrate Christmas. His name Immanuel, means God With Us! God with you and God With Me! God gets the importance of presence!! Continue reading “The Gift of Presence”
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
All circumstances? I mean, many of us aren’t thankful in favorable circumstances, let alone ALL. All includes, the messy circumstances, the frustrating circumstances, the painful circumstances, the trying circumstances and yet as you can see God’s word states that it is His will for you & me to be thankful in ALL circumstances.
We may not be thankful for the circumstance, but we can be thankful in it. We would not choose difficult circumstances for ourselves or for those we love, but there is so much to be thankful for right in the middle of the mess. Continue reading “In ALL Circumstances”
Neeserisms 