Because of Grace
Enjoying Life The Way God IntendedArchive for Family
God Has A Plan. Get Ready.
I have been asking God to take control of my life for a long time, but like most of us I struggle with not allowing Him “full access”. Lately I have been afraid that I would not see God’s desire for me and my self-serving desires would take me in the wrong direction. So I kept asking God to make His plan for me so clear that I couldn’t miss it. Well…He answered my prayers in a BIG way.
Here’s what He did.
After some concentrated prayer about my financial situation God made it clear that I needed to do something to take care of some old debt a bit faster. In an effort to reduce that debt I have taken a second job. I figured just a few part-time hours at a local auto parts store would do the trick. Unfortunately that keeps me on the job for about 85 hours a week total. The early mornings and late nights seem to be adding up. Saying I have been a bit tired is the understatement of the year.
Well….I am finding out that God had more in store for me than just helping me reduce some debt.
The exhaustion I have been feeling was God’s way of breaking me down so He could show me how great it feels to completely surrender to His will. My low evergy level had slowed my mind down and allowed me to really listen to the people that I need to listen to. I have had numerous AAH-HAH moments this week since I am REALLY listening to these Godly people. Having no energy has forced me to extend more grace to those close to me. I just didn’t have the energy to fight them, and I now see the beauty in giving that grace.
God has been so good to me. He didn’t just give me the opportunity to reduce some debt. More importantly He showed me the importance of surrendering to His will. He showed me how much better life is with Him at the steering wheel.
Thank you God for your love and wisdom. You are the master of all, and I surrender to your will. I look to you for daily guidance, and give all the glory to you. Amen.
One Year Anniversary
Today is our blog’s one year anniversary. It seems like it was just yesterday that we brought this little corner of the blogging world to life. During those long days of gestation we wondered. What will it look like? Will it be functional? Will everyone like it? Just like everyone else that has brought a little blog into this world we worried about every little thing. But in the end we knew that God would make everything alright.
I will never forget the moment we first saw our blog’s homepage. It was so beautiful we both shed a few tears of joy. All the hours of anticipation had come to one grand climax. We had finally seen our little blog and it was overwhelming. To think that we had created this little guy was amazing. We couldn’t wait to introduce our little blog to our family and friends. We were such proud bloggers.
As the days past we began to understand the responsibility of raising a blog. We understood that the way our little blog was perceived was up to us. Would people like our little blog? Could we raise our blog in a way that would honor God? I can assure you that there were many sleepless nights wondering how our little blog would turn out.
Now that our little blog is one year old we look back on all the memories we have so far and smile. We are still very proud bloggers, and we know that with Gods help we will raise this little guy up to be a big blog. We will raise this blog to be a blog of integrity, and a blog that honors God.
Thanks for sharing in this first year of life for our little blog. As the day and years go by we just ask you all to remember…It takes a village to raise a blog. Please be a person we can count on to be a good example for our little blog.
The Joy of Being Attacked by Satan
Over the last few weeks my beautuful wife and I have had a continuing conversation about something that we cant seem to fully understand.
Why does life seem like a neverending series of crises for some people, and a walk in a rose filled park for others?
It can be said that the people walking through the rose filled park are just hiding the truth, or avoiding the truth. It can also be said that the people living through crisis after crisis are just making problems out of what should be minor bumps in life’s road. But overall doesn’t it seem that some have it easy and some are getting hammered by life?
After more than a few conversations about this here’s a synopsis of what Helen and I have been thinking.
Satan has a goal. His mission is to keep each and every one of us from finding God. He works 24/7 finding obsticles he can place between us and God. And if he can find something that works he will keep using it…forever. The worst news of all is that he is good at what he does. He is relentless. He will continue to attack until his mission is complete.
So the simplified question is why do some people get attacked more than others. It seems the easy answer is that some of us are so close to God that Satan has more difficulty getting to us. Some people have such a close relationship with God that whatever Satan tries fails. Well…that sounds nice, and I am sure that has some merit, but Helen and I have been rolling around a different idea.
As I said before Satan is smart. He knows what will get to us, and will not hesitate to use anything he can find. Given that fact wouldn’t it make sense that Satan knows which of us are more dangerous to him? Wouldn’t it make sense that Satan knows who he needs to pay more attention to? Who are the “hard-cases” and who are the “push-overs”.
Does it make sense that if God has blessed someone with a gift that will lead many people to find the truth, that Satan would focus more on them in an effort to eliminate this persons influence on the world? Would Satan spend more effort on some people and less on others?
As God tells us in James 1:2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” If we are to consider it joy when Satan attacks us maybe Satans attacks are an indication we are actually doing something right. If Satan never spends any time trying to derail our life maybe our life isnt causing him any concern. Maybe our life is not worthy of Satan’s attention. If Satan looks us over and decides that we are not a th
We would love to hear everyones input on this. Don’t be shy. Tell us what you think.
Jim and Helen Go To NASCAR
NOTE: Posting this entry in a timely manner, necessitated an abbreviated shorthand of sorts in the form of this acronym: IANMTU which means, “I am not making this up.”
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Jimmy first proposed to me at a car racing event so I was eager to return to the glory days when he asked me to go with him to Sunday’s NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway. But that racing event was NOT NASCAR.
NASCAR is the Big Kahuna of motor sport events.
For instance, advanced race preparation is entirely different. Before this race, I invested in a mani-pedi and exfoliating face peel. I also bought new sunscreen.
I shoulda invested in anything with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s face on it. Or a tattoo, because that is de rigeur for racing women. IANMTU (Just a joke mom re: the tattoo.)
Pre-race preparation is also entirely different. If the party known as “the wife” (i.e. “me”) is not ready and cheering loudly at the appointed departure time set by “Race Fan Dad” (i.e. Jim), said Jim will sit in a chair with his hat on staring at “the wife” as intently as a dog eyeing a tasty snack positioned on a high kitchen shelf. Impatience also increases non-verbal warning methods: drumming of fingers, fidgeting, sighing, repeated requests “to help” as in “do you NEED any help?” “can I HELP you DO THAT” “would it HELP if I knocked you over the head and dragged you to the car?” IANMTU
Jim’s race retinue is also markedly different now that he is a “married man” (not to be confused with “marked man.”)
In the dark, cold days of his bachelor-again-hood, Sunday’s race meant actually camping out with other men on dirt stakeouts from Friday night until Monday morning. IANMTU Always a Racing Renaissance Man, Jim rented his own “Porta-Potty.” IANMTU. This emancipated him from communal lines and unnecessary small talk with strangers. He also had no need to succumb to what I observed to be Nascar Chivalry: a man allows a woman to precede him in line for the communal “Porta-Potty.”
Now married, Jim is racing’s pampered poodle: he slept in a hotel not adorned with either a number or a “best” in the title, ate a fiber-rich-heart-healthy breakfast, drove a rented SUV, carried one petite cooler filled with beverages fit for any age, and wore sunscreen.
This, I am positive, guaranteed a fun-filled race day…if only we could GET THERE. It seemed the entire DFW Metroplex was in mass evacuation to Texas Motor Speedway by any vehicular means necessary.
It is here, ladies that you MUST heed my warning: bring at least 3 magazines, one Fashion, one news, and one Southern Living. Do not deviate from this warning. The Southern Living is especially helpful for its obvious content but also it distractibility quotient: not less than 2 times, when I plastered it on my passenger window, it provided enough stunned surprise in a fellow driver to allow Jim to quickly maneuver for a better place in traffic. IANMTU
And the traffic is monumental. It took us 2 hours to crawl 6 miles. I am NOT joking. In addition to magazine reading, I was also able to catch up on my “Read the Bible in a Year” plan, sail through the “verilies” and even progress through the “begats.”
Once safely parked next to a truck with duck-tapped, brown Hefty bags (IANMTU)
We flounced through the burgeoning crowd and rented our little personalized communication system called “fanbrain” or “fanthang” or something like that so that we could hear the race as it roared passed us.
Our seats were thankfully in the perched shade (God is alive and loving us!). Tethered to each other via the “fanbrain’s” black umbilical cord, I was able to hear the bogity-bogity dude, the driver talk to his team, and so many commercials for Amdro that my ankles started to itch in empathetic reaction.)
Jim testified earlier in the morning “once you hear the roar of the engines pass you after the checkered flag drops, you will feel in ‘in here.’” He did this while pounding his chest so emphatically I almost stopped getting ready and called 911.
But, as usual, he was right. The sound was thrilling! The crowd was excited yet extremely well-behaved. In all honesty, I have seen worse behavior at Day 1 of Nordstrom Rack’s half-yearly sale when they roll out the Skinny Jeans in double-digit sizes.
We made friends with our fellow-race enthusiasts. We ate many types of food on a stick. IANMTU We took tons of pictures and I began to adopt race car lingo: I experimented with using the words “pit” and “caution” as both noun and verb.
I even shared a recipe with a hearty woman sporting an arm tattoo that read ”Car #3 in our hearts forever.” IANMTU
Jim says I can go again to NASCAR. But only if I learn not to yell “Go, Danica” when they drop the checkered flag.
Again, IANMTU
P.S. We did go to church Sunday before the race (just so can rest assured, Daddy Bill, Mom, Cousin Bill, Cousin Little Bill, Bill Jr., Cousin Kathy, Big Bill, and Cousin Billy)
Daily Vitamin, 3-4-09: Risk…The Fertilizer For Our Fruit
I have heard it said that faith is going to the edge of everything you know, and taking one more step. Why do most of us shutter at taking that one risky step? We can easily travel to the edge and look out at the unknown, but taking that one risky step of faith seems impossible.
God has provided us with numerous examples of people taking risks for God. The Bible is full of men and women who risked everything for God. Spend 30 minutes reading Acts and it becomes clear that risk is part of life as a Christian. I am sure that God is trying to tell me that risk should be part of my life, but when I read about the early church, and the daily risks they were subjected to I feel completely inadequate. For some reason I have a hard time seeing myself imprisoned, and flogged because I wouldn’t stop talking about Christ.
I have only recently come to understand how inportant risk is in our life , but here’s what I see as the bottom line. There is only one reason God asks us to take a risk. He needs us to take a risk to further HIS purpose. He needs us to take that one risky step to bring ourselves and others closer to Him. That is how we produce the fruit He asks us to produce. If we stay in our comfort zone avoiding any risky situation we cannot produce fruit. If we keep it safe we will never fully reach our God-given potential.
I look forward to any comments you may have on living a risk-filled life. And I pray that we all become the risk takers that God calls us to be.
Pink Vitamin February 14: Be Not A Slave to Your Own Past
”Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I copied this from the Word Ferret blog at http://elizadashwood.wordpress.com/ and I thought it was a great quote…
My dear diva, Mary, took this quote literally and learned to fly an airplane at “29-again” years-old. Equally brave diva Lori persevered and graduated from college after 20 years of classes, taken one at a time while she raised her family.
An art teacher named Elizabeth, who let me hang around with her despite my crayon-obsession, chaperoned a group of 30 college kids to Europe at age “post-AARP” age.
My dear mother-in-love, Paula took a halfway cross-country trip over the holidays and was the first one up and the last one to bed.
My courageous parents were the first of their family to graduate with college degrees, putting each other through school long before Equal Rights, Equal Pay, or even Equal sugar substitute.
I really like this quote and the moments it gave me remembering these people in my life. Who does it inspire you to remember?
Pink Vitamin February 4, 2008: The No-Complaint Zone
The No-Complaint Zone
Last year, the Rev. Will Bowen of Kansas City, Mo. gave a sermon challenging listeners not to complain for 21 consecutive days. He says 21 days is the length of time it takes to form — or break — a habit. He handed out purple bracelets as a reminder for them.Bowen encouraged people in his audience to focus on what was working in their life as opposed to what was not. People can agree on two things. One, the world is not the way they’d like it, and two, there’s too much complaining going on in the world.
Now, one year later, 4.6 million people in more than 80 countries have taken up the challenge. Bowen’s recent book, “A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted,” extols the spiritual virtues of a complaint-free life. The purple bracelets are available at http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org/ .
Would you be able to do this? Let’s see how many days we can accumulate in the no-complaint-zone!
P.S. Saw this and decided to share it:
F.E.A.R. has been used as an acronym for
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real.
Think about it! And have a grateful day! 
1-27 Daily Vitamin: I just took down our Christmas tree.
I just took down our Christmas tree. Really. A few minutes ago the last of the ornaments descended from their perch overlooking our living room. Previous Christmases visitors should know that the tree was quite a bit bigger this year since Jim and I liberated a tall, proud spruce from my mom’s “attic of holiday miracles.” My small, “single mother and child” tree has been relegated to the back of our “attic of horrible atrocities.”But the tall, proud spruce is now down. Those of you who know me well are probably wondering why I rushed so this year. As daughter Amelia said, “It’s not even Spring Break yet, mom.”
Well, I am a married woman now and therefore I need to maintain a certain respectability and decorum. I need to take my place in the land of the very married and civilly responsible. And the little girl down the street refused the job and my annual offer of “one, crisp dollar bill for you to spend anyway you like.” Apparently, at 12 years of age, dollars are a dime-a-dozen.
When the tree wriggled its way into a curriculum I am writing, I knew it was time for the take-down. For example, I recently wrote this question for a reading comprehension unit:
“A fully decorated and lit Christmas tree still stands in a living room on January 22nd.” From this statement, the following inference can be made:
a.) the tree is real 6-foot spruce
b.) the tree is artificial 6-foot spruce
c.) the tree is a lasting reminder of middle-aged procrastination
d.) the family who occupies the house of the decorated tree has gone on a long, luxurious, all-expense-paid, European holiday.
Well, the tree had to come down because I really had nothing to do while waiting for the Australian Open Finals, broadcast at the despicably late hour of 2:30 Central Time. Why in the world, the Aussie’s can’t schedule something at a decent hour is beyond me. Federer and Henin probably wouldn’t have lost this week, if they had played at logical match times.
So down came the seashells in various adornments reflecting our SoCal beginnings. And the little child-made popsicle stick reindeers, snowflakes, and wreaths. The ornaments reflecting places Amelia and I traveled and endless hours she spent in hotel rooms while I worked. The decapitated china dog ornament, (which I put way in the back of the tree) is also off the tree, spared trash confinement every year by daughter Amelia’s declaration that this will sound the death warrant for aging Aspen. (Aspen is 14 years old now, so she may be on to something.)
The special crystal ornaments from a dear friend came down with no breakage. And the big, heavy, blue and white cones that Jim and I were thrilled to find last year for a bargain-basement price. He bought one for every child and grandchild, and grandchild-to-be and future son/daughter in-law to-be. Christin and Amelia personalized each one with white-out pens. We stored any the extras. I planned to call the Martha Stewart magazine people for a photo op of the blended family tree. I thought we were so “elegantly chic” to have such a uniform design scheme until a friend informed me that these were indeed Hanukah dreidels, not pine cones, reflecting blue from extreme winter cold. I was crushed. Jim, hugged me, dried my tears, and shrugged the purchase off to ecumenical harmony. He said it was “cool” to respect different faiths. (Also, I think there was no way he was going to pop for full-price Hallmark ornaments as a concession.) Anywho, the dreidel cones lived on to decorate last year’s holiday and this one.
I was surprised at how fast the job actually went once I started. (There is a blog entry in there somewhere.) At least I was grateful for my reluctance to begin the dismantling process. I wondered out loud to Aspen why tearing something down always goes faster than building it up. I think Aspen understood, listening attentively, and watching intently to see if the decapitated dog ornament would end up in the trashbin or the ornament bin.
Daily Vitamin - 1/23/08
There is a lot of talk these days about the “Law of Attraction.” The most common definition goes something like this…
“Individuals experience physical and mental manifestations corresponding to their predominant thoughts, feelings, words, and actions; and that they thereby have the ability to control the reality of their lives through thought alone.” (Thanks Wikipedia)
I know this sounds really cool and there are a lot of big names lining up to profess the virtues of this theory, but as a Christian I need to find support for it in the Bible. I need to know that my beliefs line up with God’s guidelines. While it seems that everytime my wife and I turn around we are hearing about the “Law of Attraction,” I needed to do a bit of studying.
I started off having some issues with the idea that I could control my own reality. I have proven to myself time and time again that God does a better job, and I should just stay out of the way, but I still wanted to get a little deeper into this “Law of Attraction” thing.
It seems there are two parts to this. Thinking positive and acting positive. If we think positive thoughts good things happen to us and if we act with integrity good things happen to us. Our actions and thoughts come back to us in kind. Good for good, and bad for bad.
It didn’t take long to find support for the “acting” part of this in the Bible. That part of the “Law of Attracton” is a principle we all learned in Sunday school as children. We called it “The Golden Rule”. The words used to describe the “Law of Attraction” might be a bit high-falutin’ (I love it when I have a chance to use the word high-falutin’), but it was so simple we all learned this as children. Here’s how God describes His golden rule:
Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
If we treat others with a high level of integrity we will be blessed by God. That is how it comes back to us. We may not always be treated the same way by others, but we will have God’s blessing on us. God’s promise is clear and that is far better than anything we could ask for.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to find that God tells us to think good thoughts too. God talks about this so much I had trouble deciding which scripture I wanted to use as the prime example, but I think the best example is what Jesus calls the greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Pretty simple. If we love God with all our heart and mind we will think positive thoughts and keep our mind focused on the good. That will bring us God’s blessing. If we receive God’s blessing good things will happen to us.
Is the “Law of Attraction” a Godly principle? Well…sort of. It seems that the world has taken a Godly idea and tweaked it to make it palatable for mass consumption. People have a need to feel like they are in control, so they take God out of the mix. But the idea of kindness returning kindness is a Godly concept. The problem with the “Law of Attraction” is that it elevates man above God. It tells people that they are the ones creating the good results. That the good that comes back to us is coming back because of us. The reality is that when we do good the good that comes back to us is from God. It is God’s blessings that are the result of our good deeds.
The “Law of Attraction” also overlooks the fact that when we live under God’s control we are covered by grace. Even when we make mistakes we receive God’s blessings. We don’t have to be perfect to see the good God sends our way.
I have only been exposed to the “Law of Attraction” for a short time so if you have some thoughts please add a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say.
Daily Vitamin 1/8/08
Do This in Remembrance of Me
I took communion for the first time in April of 1974, and over the years I have gone through various phases of “remembrance”. From overwhelming emotions to going through the motions. In thirty-odd years I have been from one end of the spectrum to the other, but in the summer of 2005 something happened that forever changed the way I “remember”.
In the last few weeks of 2004 our son Jeremy was deployed to Iraq with a few thousand other First Cavalry troops to begin the second year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since his specialty was driving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was assigned to a squad that was responsible for “keeping the peace” in a neighborhood in southeast Baghdad. They went out every night patrolling the neighborhood, or if there was information indicating that one of the bad-guys was in their area they would go out and get him. Over the 14 months he was stationed in Bahgdad his squad completed over 400 mission. Almost 5 times the number required to receive a combat medal.
Unlike the fathers of soldiers from previous wars, I was able to communicate with Jeremy just about everyday. Since the barracks he was assigned to had Internet access Jeremy and I used email, and IM (instant messaging), to stay in touch. We didn’t talk everyday, but as long as I saw he was logged in I was able to relax a bit. Knowing he was on-line chatting it up with his friends meant he was not out driving around in the city.
In July when I didn’t see Jeremy logged in for a couple days I wasn’t too worried. It had happened before. After four days I was beginning to get concerned. After the fifth day I was in the initial stages of complete panic. I couldn’t get any answers from his sisters, or any of his friends, so I took to the Internet and read every news article that had been written over the last few days. (Something I had been avoiding for months.) Nothing.
As the sixth day dawned with no word from Jeremy I was a total mess. Who do I call? Is there anyone that can get word to him? I felt lost. I had no clue what to do. Then it happened. As I sat at on the couch reading I heard that chime from the computer indicating that someone I knew had just logged-in. I threw myself at the computer and prayed it was him. Seeing those bold letters next to his name that said he was “logged-in” gave me such a complete feeling of relief. My fingers flew over the keyboard as I fired off a message to my son.
Over the next hour or so he told me an incredible story. His squad was ambushed at a well known intersection in a very bad part of the city. His vehicle took thousands of rounds of small arms fire, and six rocket-propelled grenades. One of the R.P.G.’s took out the 25mm machine gun on the top of his vehicle, and left them defenseless. As the men in Jeremy’s vehicle tried to figure a way to escape, the humvee’s in front of them began to take fire. Unfortunately the humvee’s are not armored, so they had virtually no protection. The only way out was to run. They put their trucks in gear and took off.
One at a time the vehicles returned to base. The damage to the trucks was significant, but that wasn’t important. Everybody was counting men. As the last truck rolled past the gate the reality of war began to set in. One man lost, and three men injured.
Jeremy gave me all the details, but as the conversation wound down I was just thankful that he was not harmed physically. I knew God would be the only one that could heal the mental and emotional trama, so I spent that night praying for the soldiers and all the families that would be affected by this tragedy.
Do This in Remembrance of Me
The next time I took communion I went back to that horrible day. I came very close to losing a son, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. But I also thought about what God actually did. God didn’t just lose a son, he gave a son. He wasn’t surprised by an accident, or act of war. He planned it, and prepared for it. He knew what was going to happen and made sure it did.
When I “remember” Jesus, and the sacrifice God made for me, it will always bring me back to that summer day in 2005. That’s the day I finally “got it”. That’s the day I finally understood God’s sacrifice. That’s the day I “felt” the love of God’s gift.
I pray that all of us will come to understand how great Gods love is, and that we live everyday as a day of thanksgiving for that love.
Scriptural Resolutions For 2008
The best way to start the year is to reaffirm our love for God, and our desire to live in His light. Here’s a list of “Reaffirming” scriptures that have already started off our year. Take a minute and add a couple of your own.
May God bless us all as we begin a new year.
1 Corinthians 16:13
Isaiah 43:18
1 Peter 1:13
1 Peter 5:8
Ephesians 5:1
Ephesians 6:11
Philipians 2:12
1 Thessalonians 5:16
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Housecalls
Housecalls
I am sharing my home with another man today. And this is not the first time. I did it two weeks ago too.
I am letting him dictate the day and time. I have structured my whole day around his appearance. I am accepting less than forthcoming details on when he will arrive or when he will leave or what he will do while he is here. Don’t want to lose him and I can lose him. He will choose another and I will be left waiting, alone.
I listen for the phone to ring as a girl waiting for the star quarterback to call. Once on the phone I chastise myself: don’t press for details, sound happy and peppy, agree to anything, just get him over here. I remind myself to look him in the eye. People like that, you know.
There is so much expectancy in the air as the time gets closer for his arrival. I get out of my bath robe. I sweep the walk. I put the dog in the yard so she does not scare him away. I nervously pick up stray magazines, empty glasses left over from last night’s dinner, last week’s paper, a bow. I find a maraschino cherry stem on the floor-how long has that been here? I wonder if he will notice my errant housekeeping and if it will make a difference.
The hour draws near. Jim suddenly appears. He knows. He is home unexpectedly in the middle of the day, excitingly awaiting what I thought only I knew. The man called Jim too.
The guys at Jim’s work know and have encouraged him to return home. They gave him tips, pointers. They shared their own experience of what to expect, what they have been through.
The man calls again, just to make certain. This is standard procedure. To insure that someone is home when the cable company makes a house call.
1-2 Pink Vitamin: Weight Loss
Weight Loss
Were the holidays good to you? Are you wearing more than the sweater from Uncle Fred? Here is a sure-fire weight loss strategy guaranteed to take pounds off immediately, if not sooner.
Forgive Yourself! Then forget it.
God has forgiven you, but better even than that, God has forgotten about what He forgave!
Jim gently reminded me of this essential truth recently when I was “packing for a guilt trip,” as my friend Karen says.
“That’s what Jesus did at the cross,” he said. “That’s not your job. And God has forgotten about it.”
What a realization for this 3-decades-old Christian!
Then I remembered: God is love and love “does not keep score” 1Cor. 13:5
So, back to your new year’s weight loss plan: Forgive yourself. The weight of carrying your own cross is exhausting. Jesus took your sins on the cross He carried. Forgive yourself. Lose the weight. Live weight-free!
12-31 Last Words/First Words
So what will your last words be for 2007? Hooray!? Yippee!?
What will your first words be for 2008?
It matters, you know…consider it.
Consider also beginning a new tradition tonight…
As you are thinking about your resolutions, consider writing four: one resolution for your family, one for your vocation, one for your avocation, and one just for yourself.
Tonight, write your resolutions on a small card and place the card in a sealed envelope. Mark the envelope with the words “Do not open until December 31, 2008″ and tuck away in the drawer by your bed or somewhere safe. You may also keep your resolutions in another place as well, but remember the envelope as well. Ask everyone in your house tonight to do this and seal them all in the envelope.
We have done this for over 12 years and it is amazing to follow what we thought was essential over the years and track our progress.
It is a kind of time capsule of wishes, if you will. Try it!
Best Quotes We Found in 2007 Part 2
Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum. Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime. Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse. Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery. Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement. Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Can that be why Paul writes, “love…keeps no record of wrongs” 1 Cor. 13:4, 5
Our Idea: Change the thoughts and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love?
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You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.
Our Idea: Let God’s eyes contain the measure or your value, not your own.
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God’s love does not rise and fall with our performance. He loves us for whose we are; we are his child. Your value is inborn. Period.
Our Idea: Since we can’t understand the concept of infinite love with our finite mind, we just go with it. The first secret of love is receiving. 1 John. 4:19
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Before you speak, ask: Will what I’m about to say help others become stronger? You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body. You may, by virtue of your words or ways, change a person’s life forever.
Our Idea: We believe in the ministry of spoken expression. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus.
Our Idea: Right or wrong, we sometimes define ourselves through other people’s eyes.
What is True: Let God’s acceptance compensate for others’ rejection.
Pink Vitamin: December 26, 2007 Left Side
I Will Be Your Left Side
A story for you on true giving:
Pink Vitamin December 13, 2007:Selfishness
Selfishness
I don’t usually write while in the bathroom. Multitasking has its place but there are limits. Today, however was an exception. The faculty bathroom in this New Mexico school was probably decorated by the design team of Southern Living magazine. In the bathroom was one of those Sentiment-of-the-Day calendars. Probably everyone wondered why I left the bathroom, retrieved my pink legal pad (you weren’t really expecting a yellow legal pad?) and reentered the bathroom. The message for today caught my eye, especially for its placement by the publishers during this holiday month. Here it is:
“Selfishness shares a root form with the words
strife and contentious. It suggests a
self-preoccupation that hurts others, a divisive
arrogance. Selfishness is an obsession with self that
excludes others, hurting everyone.”
What do you think? (about the sentiment, not multitasking in the bathroom.) How is selfishness divisive? Have you ever been the victim of another’s selfishness? Something to think about whether in or out of the bathroom.
Pink Vitamin December 12, 2007:Add Your Light to the Sum of Light.
When I am on the road, I get to check in with cable. The other night’s late, late show featured the movie called “The Year of Living Dangerously.” In one scene, two characters, Billy Kwan and Guy Hamilton are speaking about the overwhelming needs of the poor in Indonesia. Hamilton grows disenchanted and overwhelmed by the enormity of what he sees. As a response to his frustration, Billy Kwan entreats, “Add your light to the sum of light.”
Gosh, I love that line! Do what you can, the character of Kwan says. Reignite your desire to make a difference. Add your light to the sum of light. I have collected some websites and possibilities to Reignite your good intentions and Recycle them to good actions. This is not a finite list. Send me more ways to add light and I will include them in an immediate future post.
Review: Analyze your Christmas list. Match every listed item with a way to donate your time, your money, or your energy.
Re-Search: GoodSearch, http://www.goodsearch.com/ donates money from every search to charity. Just enter the charity of your choice and search. GoodSearch, powered by Yahoo, donates money to your charity of choice every time you search - at no cost to you. We’ve even added the GoodSearch link to the OOPS webpage.
Retail: After choosing your charity and finding the perfect doo-dad for pops, shop online at Good Shop and iGive. You can even add your child’s school. A recent shopping excursion at Good Shop (solely for the benefit of research!) found donation amounts between .5% and 35% of total sales. Remember, you do not pay, retailers do! (Please don’t Grinch it up for me and say the retailers are raising prices to cover their donations…Believe in the power of social capital.)
Rethink: Gifts without lead or tiny, choke-able pieces by shopping at Learning Express. In Dallas or online @ Learning Express.
Regift: Give your old cell phone away. One old phone generates two new phone cards. Online @ Cellphones for Soldiers http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
Remember: A Million Thanks, forwards thank you emails and text messages and Let’s Say Thanks, sends free printed postcards to service personnel. Visit both websites today or with your children and grandchildren during the holidays.
Renew: Renew an acquaintance with someone who is alone this year. The holidays find many people alone: the family or spouse of an active duty serviceperson, a newly single neighbor or friend, a single parent. Offer to watch the kids, drive their carpool one day, take their kids to a movie, buy tickets to a local event so they may attend, provide yard care one Saturday, babysitting, bring food in, and/or take them out.
Rejoice: Finally, a real reason to buy shoes! Visit TOMS Shoes (no relation to my brother). For every pair of TOMS purchased a pair of shoes will be donated to a child in need.
Respond: Family Promise help low-income families nationwide achieve lasting independence link those in need with those who want to help through four program areas. Visit Family Promise to learn more. Christian Homes dot org http://www.christianhomes.org/ provides elderly care, hospice care, respite care, and assisted living care. Christian Homes dot com http://www.christianhomes.com/ provides maternity care, adoption services, and foster care. World Wide Youth Camps conducts summer camps for the youth of Russia.
Replant: San Francisco’s Friends of the Urban Forest will deliver; pick up; and then replant your tree. Through December 19th @ sfenvironment.org Not in SF? Search for a local alternative at, you guessed it, GoodSearch
Remember: Send me more ways to “add your light to the sum of light” and I will include them in an immediate future post.
Pink Vitamin December 11, 2007:Most Inspiring Person 2007
Most Inspiring Person
An email I received this morning cited the website Beliefnet and its selection of 10 nominees for the Most Inspiring Person of 2007 Award.
I think my Dad should be on this list for the courage he takes everyday to push the limits of physical therapy and keep the most positive, affirming attitude.
Here are the results from the Beliefnet readers:
Prof. Liviu Librescu 81%
Wesley Autrey 4%
Angelina Jolie 5%
Maj. Scott Southworth 3%
Luma Mufleh 2%
Majora Carter 1%
Don Cheadle 1%
Dr. Catherine Hamlin 2%
Tony Dungy 2%
Barbara Morgan 0%
The first name, Professor Liviu Librescu was new to me, but I am thankful to know of his influence now. Professor Liviu Librescu was the professor who died saving Virginia Tech students’ lives during the gunman’s attack.
Whom do you think should be added to the list? Whose name would you add as your most inspiring person of the year? I have made my suggestion with Dad’s inclusion.
Please honor them and post your comments here:
Pink Vitamin December 10, 2007:Continue…
Continue & Continue…
They may see the good you do as self-serving.
Continue to do good.
They may see your generosity as grandstanding.
Continue to be generous
They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.
Continue to be warm and caring.
It is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.
Not my words, but they are great, huh?
Pink Vitamin December 9, 2007:Celebrate the “Merry” with “Christmas”
Celebrate the “Merry” with “Christmas”
Here is what I am hearing as I work in teacher workrooms, office hallways and hotel lobbies: “My husband won’t go with me to the Christmas party because he doesn’t like crowds.”
“My kids said they aren’t spending one more boring holiday with Aunt Mildred.”
“My daughter’s father-in-law won’t come to our house because there will be people he doesn’t know.”
“I don’t like turkey, can’t we just have enchiladas?”
“My husband won’t go if he has to wear a suit.”
“Annie wants to come by for lunch, but the twins won’t be up then. Justin works late and won’t be in until after 8:00. Berniece is not sure when she can get away. And I haven’t heard from Mike yet.”
“I am living for Friday.”
“I’m not going to their house; they don’t have any options for vegans.”
“The mother should have the most presents under the tree and open first.” (Ok, that one is from me, but still…)
“(She)–relative’s name omitted– is observing Christmas, just not the “Merry” part.”
Observing Christmas, just not the Merry part.
Is that you? Is that, (gasp) me? Are we content to observe this holiday without the “merry” part? Easy for me to write, because I work for myself so everyday is a Christmas party and this year Jim’s boss is foregoing the Christmas party in favor of a day off.
But this year, instead, could we just:
- go to the parties,
- wait dinner on the worker bees,
- arrive on time,
- smile when other options seem enticing,
- avoid talking about the war, the election, and the other hot button issues at dinner,
- wear the suit,
- eat something new,
- graciously accept the “English-Muffin-of-the-Month” club gift certificate,
- stifle the urge to say, “Are you crazy?” even once,
- read the holiday letter without rolling (y)our eyes,
- do the thing that seems out of (y)our comfort zone,
- breathe and smile,
- observe the “merry” part of Christmas,
- stop making excuses
Excuses don’t make good gifts. Instead, follow the Nike rule: Just do it.
- Give the gift of agreeability.
- Eat the food.
- Sing the songs.
- Pass the gravy.
- Let the comment pass.
- Let another put in their “two cents.”
- Hug the unlovable.
- Shovel the walkway.
- Put the tofu turkey on your prettiest silver platter.
- Bite your tongue.
Honor Daddy Bill and celebrate the “Merry” along with Christmas.
Just do it.
Pink Vitamin December 6, 2007: A Deal Is A Deal
It’s 4:00 am.
It’s 4:00 am and I have just watched my husband walk away.
The door to the hotel room closes gently with a little help from my 4:00am hands.
This is what we do. Ours is a marriage of “see you soon.” Not “goodbye” but “see you soon.”
What is the old joke?
How do you stay married to the frequent traveler? You make sure they always have an upgrade.
It is funnier when my dad tells it.
Our deal is that we will not spend more than “x” nights apart. Period. No negotiation. It is a deal. And a deal is a deal.
That is what I read that one Hollywood couple had inscribed on their wedding rings: A Deal Is A Deal. They are still married today.
So when the project is longer than “x” days, we meet somewhere in the middle. Or Jim’s version of “the middle” which means he drives a longer distance to get to his job that requires an earlier start.
And he has to leave at 4:00am. During the pause before day. When there is darkness but the promise of light. When, with hope, the truckers and nightime animals that make up road kill have gone to sleep.
A deal is a deal. We don’t want to get used to Apart. We were apart so long before in the decades of others.
I will leave in awhile, but I stay up now, in solidarity. It is only sleep lost, a renewable resource. On mornings like this, I rarely feel tired. Jim said a few minutes ago that he didn’t either. Because together renews. Apart sneakily starts to divide.
On the job today, I will not tell anyone where I went last night or how early I began the day. Jim told two friends about his plans yesterday. One thinks he’s crazy. One nodded and understood.
The second man has been committed longer. He understands that it makes a difference. He knows a deal is a deal.
****
Ephesians 5:15-16a: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, (16)making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
“Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies.” Elie Wiesel
Would love to read about the ways you reaffirm that “A Deal Is A Deal.” Please post your comments below.
Daily Vitamin - 12/03/07
As Helen and I were driving a few days ago (most likely to or from the airport) we began discussing a few of the “blog-able” topics running through our heads. As we pulled to a stop, I told Helen that I couldn’t stop thinking about how tolerant all of us have become with sin. The comment I said that stuck with me was…”I wish I hated sin as much as God did.”
It seems that we tolerate more immoral behavior as each year passes. Schools, TV, music…all of these seem to be moving in the wrong direction. The changes can be slow and subtle, but compare the programs on tv today with what was broadcast in each of the previous decades. Do the same with the music of today. Is isn’t difficult to see that there is a pattern.
Now before we get too depressed we have to understand that this isn’t a new thing. For centuries we have turned a blind eye to the sin that has infested every corner of our lives. The way Paul talks to the church in Corinth it sounds like it could be any city in the world today. (1Corinthians 5:1-13) Even back in the first century church they were tolerant of the sin in their church.
After reading what Paul said to the church in Corinth it appears that the pattern emerging is a pattern of fear. The church in Corinth was afraid to stand up against the sin in their church. They were afraid to confront just like the churches of today are afraid to stand up against the sin that is permeating so many churches throughout the world.
The first step in overcoming this fear is admitting that the fear exists. If we can acknowledge that this fear is there it will give us something tangible to fight against. The fact that most of us won’t even admit, or don’t even realize that we are afraid, makes it impossible to win the battle. You have to know who you are fighting if you want to win a battle.
Knowing that the battle is against our own fear is just the first step. Over the next few posts I will look at how we can stand firm and overcome our own tolerance of sin. We can’t do it alone so we will see what God has already done to give us the victory.
I welcome your comments…