Author: pamela

By The Grace of God

kathyrnskiss[cp_dropcaps]M[/cp_dropcaps]y mind floods with memories today — memories of days, years, decades gone by.  So many days, so many memories — so much grace the Lord has lavished on me through the gift of our firstborn daughter.

Two precious sons were born to us before the Lord gifted us all with this great treasure — this inestimable gift.  I’m ever mindful that without her, I’d never have made it through.  I’m blessed by this–I’m humbled by this.  So very humbled by the grace of God in my life and the gift of her life.

In the early days, I’d never have been able to consider or imagine that one day I’d sort of trade places with her—but that’s pretty much what’s happened.  I’ve received more from her than I’ve ever given.  I’d learned more from her more than I’ve ever taught her.  I’ve seen more through her eyes than I’ve ever seen with my own.  She’s given me intangible gifts and favours I could never repay.

[cp_dropcaps]T[/cp_dropcaps]he congregation rose to sing the hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin.   The hymnal I was holding rested on the top of my very pregnant tummy and the piano began to play.  As we sang the words of the chorus: “Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within, Grace, grace God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin,” I received a gift—a name, a great name for our baby.

Not knowing I was carrying a girl baby, I tucked that name away in my heart.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]All through my labour and delivery, I needed and looked for God’s grace.  And He handed her to me… that sunny April afternoon.[/cp_quote] All through my labour and delivery, I needed and looked for God’s grace.  And He handed her to me. Tears of great joy flooded my eyes and heart, that sunny April afternoon, as I looked into her dear face.  She was so much more than I hoped for, more than I longed for—and through all these years I see she’s a gift for which I could never give enough thanks or praise to the Lord. Or to her.

I realize the great measure of responsibility I allowed her, gave her, called on her to carry.  I’ve leaned on her strong shoulders as long as I can remember.  In our family, after her were born eight more children and what originally began as cute help, sweet holding, playing with and doting over each next baby — being mama’s little helper over the years sort of grew into or transformed into being a right hand for me.  I picture it this way,  since I’m left handed, she literally became my right hand.  I didn’t intend it, plan it or order it that way, it just happened.  I’m sure there were many spectators who thought  she did too much for me, had too many responsibilities or whatever, I don’t know—I just know she was ever at my side, ever asking what she could do or ever making up games, projects, crafts,  and recipes for the littles.  And I let her. It didn’t occur to me that things could’ve/should’ve been done differently—that she carried so much responsibility.  I asked so much of her.  Regarding all that, I don’t know if I’d do anything much differently if I could have a “do-over” today.  Maybe I just can’t actually analyze and think of what should have been done differently in the early years.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a gazillion regrets. O man, do I ever.  In these later years I  regret my distractions, my internet addiction in the early days of webdesign, being overloaded with trying to be good enough/enough-enough.  I regret that I didn’t transition well from being mother/guide/helper  to  mother/encourager/friend.  I guess I was scared to let her grow up—to go—but I’ve sincerely had no reason to be.  She never gave me cause to fear her growing up, it was all in my own head and a whole bunch of legalistic ideals that I could not/cannot live up to.  I sometimes wish I could go back change a lot of that—and be more affirming, more encouraging — more available to her.  I’ve learned so much from failings, regretting ever failing her.  It’s humbling, really. Especially when I see all she is today — the faithful, trustworthy, capable, dependable, loyal, industrious, creative person she is — the blessing she is everywhere she goes. I pray for more opportunities to add to and carry out all I’ve learned.  More opportunities to demonstrate or reciprocate  all she’s done for me—by God’s grace, for God’s precious Kathryn Grace.

A blogger’s loss & gain

teapotcup[cp_dropcaps]H[/cp_dropcaps]ardly a week goes by that I don’t think (or mutter aloud) that this or that blog or twitter account will have a crash.  In just a matter of time there will be an incident or an avalanche of incidents that will take a blogger to an intersection in her life where she’ll be broadsided some Thursday afternoon and she’ll sit on the floor, head in her hands, crying out to God for His mercy.  But for now, she doesn’t  ask for help because she doesn’t know she needs it.  Yet.

Such was the case for me… going to bed most every night regretting all the stuff that didn’t get done that day… only to wake the next morning, hurrying to get enough stuff done to be able to log on, retrieve the messages, hurriedly scan blogs of interest, personally regretting lacking the coolest format and relevant blog topics, hurriedly editing the latest photos for a new layout and then opening the blog “new post” page to start another blog entry.

With new eyes, I see the new styles and formats year after year.  Emails flood my  inbox regarding new programs, site design software, search engine optimization, methods for attracting and increasing traffic, comments, customers, digital image editing, suggestions for link sharing and more.  As I see these things for the few seconds they remain on the screen before they’re deleted, I think of all my years of temptation to be and do more — and now the young mothers who desperately long to have a successful marriage and pinterested motherhood, well educated home-schooled children, pinteresting organized homes and pinterest-perfect meals served on lovely tables in beautiful homes just like the pictures in the best blogs.  I see the ideas, tutorials, instructional and encouragement blogs and I sincerely think it’s amazing how they’ve exploded exponentially over the last few years.  The pictures almost have smell-o-vision and the images seem to be increasingly bigger, better, more than homemaking’s ever been.  All, seemingly effortlessly accomplished.  While blogging.

And for a while the mothers will be able to pull it off…. blogging and living.  Living and blogging. Checking the other blogs.  Sharing links and ideas.  Guest posting. Guest hosting.  I wish I could convey that a mama on the computer doesn’t realize — really does not realize — how much time is passing and what’s being missed and what’s NOT being done in the passage of time.  I wish I could explain that the number of times a mama says Justa sec… Justa sec… only increases.  I wish I could convey just what happens with each “Justa sec” that’s uttered.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]What’s really happening is not what it seems like at the time to the mama.[/cp_quote]  What it seems like at the time to the mama is that she really will hop up and play, or hop up and read that book, that she really will push that swing, see that funny face, play that game.   But what’s really happening, more often than not, is that mindless commands are given, mindless affirmations are made, and in Justa sec, Justa sec… a child (or two or seven) is walking away.  A child (or two or five) is ignored or put off or forgotten.  Then time is too short for that story, that game, that swing, that funny face, that trip to the library.  The hours pass into days, the days pass into months and the months pass into years.  And all those Justa sec’s net nothing — nothing but a little more precious time online.  And then the weary mama sinks down defeated… because at the end of that “Justa sec” is dinner, a spilled cup of milk, laundry, the phone or the door or the diaper or the dentist – fifteen minutes late.  The tensions build, the frustrations increase and troubles start to flow like a river.

And then one day the crash happens.  It may be a literal computer hard-drive crash or a website crash. It may be a failed or broken or damaged relationship.  But a crash happens and the mama gets a wake-up call.  She probably won’t realize in the moment, but then, the dawning of reality crashes over her like a tsunami that precious moments were missed and forever lost.

And the impact of the reality hits her as she crumbles on the kitchen floor.  She gasps to breathe as she begins to catch a glimpse of what’s happened in the space of fifty thousand Justa sec’s.   She’s leveled as she begins to realize the utter waste that consumed her days… that time to push the swing is past. Forever. In the theatre of her mind she recounts all the things forever gone, the pictures she never coloured with the littles,  the funny things she didn’t even realize she missed… that the children stopped asking her to come and see, come and read, come and play… they knew that Justa sec never came.  Justa sec never comes.  Apologies would not make up for all that was lost.  Sorrow wouldn’t restore the days and months that turned into years.  Regret would not rewind the clock.

And in a puddle of tears and a heap of sorrow, she’s pretty sure she’ll never outlive these hard days — these very hard days of reckoning.  But she will.  God in His mercy will answer her cries.  And He will tenderly cover her sorrows.  He can restore what the locusts have eaten.  A blogger’s loss may be another’s gain.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.

 

Married for Keeps – The Treasure

[cp_dropcaps]M[/cp_dropcaps]ay the LORD be with you and bless you this day!  He is so gracious to us all and His mercies are new every morning.  I share this before I share my letter with you because I know that each time I share a letter on marriage, there are sisters whose hearts are breaking and the pain of marital difficulties weighs heavily on them.  So it is with this in mind that I write and pray to offer a bit of hope today.  What I’m sharing with you today is a message I wrote many years ago and have continued mulling over and continues to be the subject most dear to my heart and a main focus of ministry to women.

As I shared previously, at the beginning of each game of marbles, a circle was drawn in the dirt and the question was posed: “Are we playing for keeps, or are we just playing?”

You see, in marriage, it’s a lot like that and from the beginning, the ground rules or the foundation must be firmly in place and clearly defined.  In observing couples over the years, I’ve often noticed that some seem as though they’re just playing while others are clearly playing for keeps.  Some seem careless about the marbles in their bags… as if to disregard their value — while others cherish them knowing their worth is greater than all the finest jewels in the world.

As analogies often do, this analogy of marbles, games, and playing for keeps or just playing will break down quickly and perhaps lose the depth of meaning I’m intending to convey, but I ask you… are you married for keeps or are you just playing?  If your answer isn’t an affirmative: playing for keeps(!), then may I ask you again for a moment more of your time… another visit over a cup of tea and a prayer for resolve to do whatever it takes to get to the heart of your commitment and to see any fault lines or cracks in your foundation and for you to take a sincere look at what else you’ve got in the bag that you’re treasuring.  What might be competing or what might be distracting you?

As with most things, what you’ve got in your bag demonstrates what you treasure and what you’ve been willing to part with or what you’ve lost.  You’ve likely had some of both, but will hopefully come to see, value and cherish your treasures more as the years go by.

[cp_dropcaps]T[/cp_dropcaps]he Treasures… There’re numerous treasures—valuable marbles in the bag of one who’s “married for keeps.”   And for one who’s married for keeps, quickly discarding the worthless marbles or those things that will damage the treasures is paramount to the guarding of the treasures.  In addition to faith in the Lord Jesus, marbles worth keeping and guarding are trust, intimacy, hope and love. Others are: forgiveness, repentance, forgetfulness of wrongs, laughter, tenderness, respect, more intimacy and loyalty.  You see, all of these, if treasured and cherished, if guarded and kept polished, provide such strength and an unshakeable resolve to “play for keeps!”  If these aren’t kept carefully, then the marriage will be open to all sorts of assaults and distractions resulting in damage or loss of any or all of the foundational stones or “marbles.”

Perhaps you’ve noticed the interaction in different marriages.  Some, you’ve readily seen are played out sweetly with great precision as if every move is made with love and skillful intention; you might feel warmed by the loving respect you see displayed, the tender kindness you see demonstrated in even small, but thoughtful, things.  You might be inspired by the kindnesses and courtesies given.  You might be encouraged by the storms they’ve endured, the trials they’ve faced and suffered and the blessings they rehearse.  But then in others, you see right away the negligence and disregard; careless words that make you wince, disrespectful attitudes that make you cringe, lack of respect, etc.   The un-cherished treasure, the unloved gift—the bag of marbles spilling out — the pink cleary lost in the battle.  I ache when I see this—but I’m instructed to take a look at my current reality–where am I at the moment?

Because I’m keenly intent on the matter,  it’s an area of occasional spiritual attack and I’m so ashamed when I discover that I’ve not been gracious and loving to my husband, or that I’ve not cherished the treasure of the gift that he is.  I grieve when I hear a man belittle, shame or mock his wife or a woman’s careless disrespect for her husband’s abilities, opinions or plans.  It’s as if edification is for *others* but we allow a certain measure of leeway for our flaws or flexibility if we don’t feel like “playing by the rules” in our personal life or marriage that we might demand in others.

I shared with you last time that when I was a little girl playing marbles, I tried to play with intense skill and the determination of a professional as I’d guard that pretty “pink cleary” and I tried to never let it out of my site. Everyone knew it was my favourite as I rarely took it out of my little bag and played it only when I felt absolutely certain I’d not lose it.  So it ought to be with each of us and the husband the LORD’s given us:  each with our prized treasure: his hopes, his reputation, his home, his goals, his thoughts, his needs, his vulnerabilities, and his emotions—we ought to be so careful with these that we would do nothing to lose or damage them.

[cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. —Proverbs 31.12[/cp_quote]”  All the days of her life.  Not when convenient, not just when others are observing, not when comfortable, but all the days of her life.  Doing good is *active* and intentional… laziness takes little effort, but doing good means taking initiative, being intentional and requires being resourceful.  Why?  Because sometimes we’ve got such a long way to go or feel there’s no good place to start that every move seems heavy and hopeless.  But with God, all things are possible and nothing is hopeless—with God.  That’s the key to being married for keeps: with God, all things are possible.

Today, a circle is drawn in the dirt… the take a look at the “bag” of the treasures of your life.  Is the bag intact?  What’s in your bag?  Have you cherished the treasures in your bag? Is the circle in the dirt very clear and visible? Have you sought to be diligent in caring for the things the LORD’s called you to care for?  Have you been careless with your treasures?  Have you neglected or mishandled the treasures of your marriage?  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]do the next right thing. [/cp_quote]Today—while it is still today, do the next right thing.  What have you neglected?  Respecting him?  Loving him?  Meeting his needs? Honouring him?  Building him up to your children?  Have you laughed *with* him or *at* him?   You see, the answers to these questions will give you a bit of a hint as to what next right thing is that you ought to do.   On your knees your answers will come — this is what I have found to be true: on my knees, the answers have come.

Married For Keeps

[cp_dropcaps]Y[/cp_dropcaps]ou know, some ways of the LORD are very easy to accept and then there’re times when His way is a bit more challenging and the price seems a bit higher, perhaps a price too steep for us to consent to give.  But, you know, in those times His mercy and grace seem greater.  These are the proving grounds, these are the testings of our faith.  I used to think that the testing of our faith was part trickery and part unrealistic expectation, something akin to being doomed to failure. O, but that’s not God, that’s not the God of peace: the all-wise, all-knowing, all-sufficient, all loving God of compassion.  The enemy intends our failure at least and at most, our lack of faith in God—God who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. But the devil would have us live/believe otherwise.  So, when I share with you things that I am learning or have learned along the way, I don’t share with strong confidence save the confidence I have in and through Jesus, my Lord.

What I’d like to share with you today is a message I have been mulling over and working on for quite some time now.  I’ll be sharing it in a couple of parts as your time is valuable and I don’t want to overstay my cup of coffee with you.  So then, today I’d like to talk with you about marriage—a subject near and dear to my heart, a subject that is receiving much media attention of late.  An institution that is under extraordinary attack and stands to be destroyed—but God!

When I was a little girl, my favourite part of each day at school was recess.  I loved recess, I loved playing hop-scotch and tether-ball and I especially loved playing marbles.  I had a little zippered bag with two handles and it held my precious marble collection.  I had treasures in that bag that were dear to me and absolutely hated the thought of losing them.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]Are we playing for keeps or are we just playing?[/cp_quote]Well, at the beginning of the game we’d draw a circle in the dirt; never content to just play the game, but fearing the consequence of loss, my question was always the same: Are we playing for keeps or are we just playing?  I always feared the loss of my precious pink cleary marble.  I probably played a bit carelessly if I knew we were “just playing,” but played with keen competitiveness and extreme caution when we were “playing for keeps.”  With skill and determination of a professional, 😉  I’d guard that pretty pink cleary and never let it out of my sight.  O, even the other little girls knew it was my favourite as I rarely took it out of my little bag, guarded it carefully and played it only when I felt absolutely certain I’d not lose it.  This analogy breaks down of course, but you get the idea.

[cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”] 7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
— Revelation 19[/cp_quote]When I think of marriage and the sacred bond between husband and wife, I think of that game from time to time.  The Word says that husbands are to love, cherish and nourish their wives—even as their own bodies.  Wives are to be subject unto their own husbands in every thing, reverencing them, as it were, with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.  Both part of the whole, both leaving and cleaving: two become one flesh.  So, the marbles… marriage… it will be a treasure to you and an heirloom for your children when you determine to draw that circle in the dirt—only playing inside that circle, and further, when you determine you’re going to not just play at it, but when you determine that, no matter what, you’re playing for keeps.

Married for Keeps means forsaking all others, living out that mysterious picture of Christ and the church — you will do whatever it takes to not lose a single marble.  What are some of the marbles in the bag of one who’s married for keeps?   I’ll share a few of those in “part two” of this letter.  Until then, don’t lose your “pink cleary.”  Your children are depending on you to have it in the bag.

Write this memorial & rehearse it

womenbible[cp_dropcaps]S[/cp_dropcaps]o much on my mind lately that I’m overwhelmed if I indulge in thinking too long without something to specifically direct my thoughts.  Were it not for prayer, singing and morning Bible study, I don’t know where I’d be.  I know that’s an over used phrase — I don’t know where I’d be — but it’s over used bcz it’s true.  More true than we might realize, I’m sure.

If you’re a believer — redeemed by grace through faith in Jesus — think where you’d be without Christ.  Think of where you’d be without that precious hope.  Think of where you’d be if you hadn’t yielded your life to Him.  It’s a staggering thought to me when I consider who I am in Him, because of Him and my infinitesimal grasp of His mercies in my life and that of my family.  Small as my grasp may be, it’s sure.  It’s very sure. It’s very sure bcz it’s not my grasp that keeps me — It’s His grasp1, it’s His faith2, it’s His finished work3, it’s His gift of hope4.

So, why would I fret? Why would I worry? Why would I be overwhelmed? Why would I wonder for a moment about the days ahead of me? When I ask myself these questions, I’m prompted to recount His mercies… I’m prompted to recall the ways He has worked and the blessings and provisions are more than I can count–more than I can recall.  I’m sure of this: His blessing and provisions are, and surely have been, more than I know.

Bookp1Earlier as we were reading along in the book of Exodus, chapter 17.  I was struck again how the Lord commanded things to be remembered and methods for such remembrance — piles of stones, books, memorials, feasts and more — and His direction to Moses to write for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua (verse 14).  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]Never wasting a thread, never wasting opportunities, isn’t God merciful to provide exactly what’s needed?[/cp_quote]  Joshua was going to need that memorial — not only to bolster his faith, but bcz he was going to need strength and great courage — God was going to use him in ways he could not have imagined.

Bookp1So I take this; I receive instruction to keep accounts of God’s dealings with me and our family — and I tell them what the Lord has done for us.   The timing of this reading is perfect — as His work (and Word) always is.  I so need to pay attention to what God’s doing in these days as we’re calling on Him for so many specific things. I know I’m going to need all these things — I want to add to the great things He’s done what He’s doing now and I want to rehearse it my children.  They need to hear.  And to remember.  Not only bcz it’s part of their heritage, it’s also God’s work in their lives and what they’re going to need as they face the battles ahead, as they follow the Lord — maybe they’ll face some Joshua moments, maybe they’ll face some trials and testings of faith unlike any we’ve ever faced.  I don’t know… but I do know this: God is faithful, and as they walk with Him, He will be with them–He promises this for His children.

For my birthday, Wes bought me a new journal Bible — a Bible so unlike any I’ve ever had.   Because there are no cross references, footnotes, commentary or maps ~smile~ I feel like I’m reading the Word with new eyes or, maybe, like I’m riding a bike without training wheels for the first time.  All this and bcz I’ve had many Bibles that were exactly the same, I’m familiar with where verses and passages are on a given page.  This new one, while still KJV, is very different.  Fresh start… and it’s a blessing.  I’m not an artist by any stretch of imagination—but here I have my new Bible and new watercolour pencils and I’ve begun this journey.  It’s my plan to add something every day. Down the road, I pray I’ll be able to look back and trace the Hand of the Lord on this journey.  And someday my children will see some of what I saw and what the Lord was doing in, for, and through me — and more: for them.

1. John 10.28-29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
2. Galatians 2.16  “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
3. John 17.3-4   “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
4. 2Thessalonians 2.16  “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,”

Just One Added Thing Journal

schoolmenublank2 So the idea I wrote about yesterday… I implemented it and added one more thing to the idea:  Journal it!  Make an account of that schoolmenublank3 next thing — every day — that one thing I added.  Accountability is a powerful tool.

So is follow-through and accomplishment!

So I have this notebook and will just keep writing the day/date and the item and I’ll keep a running number — honestly, I truly hope to see 266 things added.  Using this method *and* my This Beautiful Life planner journal, I will have a very tangible accountability tool/marker for this year.  I marvel at the ways of the Lord in my life and see that had I not had so many failures, I’d not have so many fixes or solutions for correcting failures.  Not that I advocate failure or carelessness, I just see how God uses our shortcomings, our failings, our missed marks, our losses.  He uses them for His glory and our good.  Strange, this.  Really, it’s strange, isn’t it?  That God, Creator of the Universe, loves me (and you!!) so much that He watches over me (and you!!) day by day, gently leading us along.  But sometimes I don’t even know that in the moment I am being led along.  But i am.  He sees. He knows. He cares.  Incredible, yes?

So when I come to the place of having to have all these crutches—the planner journal, the Bible journaling, the just one thing added journal, I have to realize that His ways are higher than mine and His Word — every day — lights my path.  Whether I recognize it or not.  When He frequently gave instruction to make an account of what He’d done, heap up a pile of stones for a memorial, write a book of remembrance, He had a purpose:  it for was for His glory and for the good of each one who saw, heard or read the accounts.  This speaks to my heart today as I have written so many accounts of His doings and dealings in our family and in my life.  It’s for me to remember.  Maybe it’s for others, to see as well, I don’t know.  I do know this:  all His ways are good.

schoolpencil1 As I write in the journal(s) I see (often later) so much more than had I not recorded things—-I remember so many more details later, details I’d never have remembered had I not written just a note about something at the time.   I so often think that I could not possibly forget different things, events, provisions for their magnitude or miraculous nature.  But I forget — even though I know I don’t want to forget.

Journals help me to not forget to remember.

Just one added thing each day

dishwashercupsup

[cp_dropcaps]T[/cp_dropcaps]his morning as I sat at my dining room table, I thought, what if I did one new thing each day for the rest of this year, how many things would I be able to do?  How many additional things would be accomplished?  Two Hundred Sixty Six.  Imagine: 266 additional things.  Instantly, I’m reminded of the significance of the number 266 — an average pregnancy is 266 days.   Not anymore for this Sarah, but that’s a number I’ll never forget.

I considered:  Purposefully learning and purposefully accomplishing one additional thing every day.  Adding one more step, situp, pushup, crunch, squat—-one more whatever—-to my exercise routine.  That’s a whole bunch.  And that’s somewhere to begin!  That, and it would create a dramatic change in strength and stamina.

Just adding clarity or purpose to my daily routines helps me be clearer on the concept.  Otherwise, many of my efforts will not produce desired results.  If I just do things hastily or haphazardly or without being clear on the concept, I won’t have much to show for all these days I’ve been given and if I don’t strive to better use the time I’ve been given I’ll continue to look back and see a whole bunch of busyness and not a whole lot of accomplishment.  By way of illustration, the image I’ve chosen for today’s post is a picture of dirty cups loaded into the dishwasher. The child who did this chore, did what I asked.  And I was pleased with the effort—but it became a teachable moment as I described the purpose of the soap and sprayer beneath the rack and how it accomplished the cleaning of the inside as well as the outside of the cups.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]It’s a clear picture of how ineffective some of our best efforts are when we’re not clear on the concept.[/cp_quote]

So I continued this morning, and throughout this afternoon, to consider the huge benefit I would realize in cleaning/doing/accomplishing one extra thing every day for 266 days (and beyond).  I’m already cleaning every day anyway — one more thing might take one more or five more or thirty-five more minutes.  What a blessing to my family–and to me: a clean and cozy home – on purpose just for them, just for me, not for or because of anyone else.   What if I made one new recipe each week like I used to do?  What if I did one extra load of laundry each day?  You get the idea.

Then my mind swirled with a great idea pertinent to where I am right now: What if I eliminated one thing every day?  Or a bag of things? Or a box of things?  Every day.  What if I organized a drawer one day, a cabinet another day, and a closet another day?  I already do this to some extent — so adding one thing to my daily regimen seems doable. 🙂 I just haven’t done this with purpose every day.  Then I imagined that I could pick an area to work on every day and if I sorted, in that one small area, items into boxes marked: keep/giveaway/throwaway.   Well, I’d surely be very, very organized by the end of the year or sooner!

What if I read an extra chapter, wrote an extra journal entry, wrote a letter, a blog post, a list of dreams, plans, ideas? I’m already reading and writing things every day… so the ideas is something added to my normal course of daily routines — just one added thing every day.

Join me in doing one added thing today.  Just one thing added.  Think about it, if we do one additional thing every day until the end of the year—we’ll have done 266 extra things.

Think of it… just ONE added thing.  Ready, steady, you Go, girl! ♥

 

Don’t Smash The Wagon

heart2.jpg.fpxIF YOU FALL OFF THE Trim Healthy Mama plan WAGON —– after having smashing success —– DON’T SMASH THE WAGON!  GET UP… TO YOUR KNEES… GIVE YOUR PLANS TO THE LORD, CRY FOR HELP, CRY FOR HOPE —- DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF THE SILLY nonsensical repetitive INDULGENCE THAT GOT YOU TO AN UNHEALTHY PLACE/WEIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

So you fell off the wagon.

DO NOT GIVE IN TO THE LIE THAT YOU ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE PLAN–THAT YOU HATED IT ANYWAY — THAT YOU JUST WANT TO BE FREE TO EAT WHAT YOU WANT and just be normal again.  THOSE MAY BE TRUE FEELINGS, BUT THE LIE IS THAT YOU CAN EAT WHAT YOU WANT AND NOT FACE OR PAY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES.

DON’T GIVE UP AND SAY: STUPID PLAN, STUPID SCHEDULE, STUPID CHAOTIC BOOK, STUPID INGREDIENTS, STUPID RECIPES, STUPID CONFUSING NAMES AND STYLES AND… and… and…  STOP IT.  SERIOUSLY, STOP IT.

don’t smash the wagon

YOU SOUND LIKE A SILLY, SELFISH CHILD WHO WANTS CAKE AND TREATS AND NO RULES and no weight gain.

Oh wait.  Remember?  That’s the beautiful thing you discovered when you began implementing the plan and trying out all the ideas and found some truly delicious recipes you enjoyed!!  Remember?  Yes, before the Cadbury eggs… before the Valentine’s Kisses… before the Christmas cakes-cookies-pies-fudge-candy…  before you gave into the lie that you don’t really care anymore anyway. 

[cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]Only your enemy the devil wants you to believe you will never get there and you might as well not even try.[/cp_quote] Remember?  Remember when you realized that you were doin’ it?!?!  Remember when you were WINNING?!?? You were following the plan and LOSING weight!  You LOST WEIGHT  Remember?  Yeah, that was YOU!  You lost that weight!  YOU did it.  YOU GO, GIRL!!!

So you fell off the wagon. 

  Get up. GET UP.  SERIOUSLY, GET UP AND GET GOING… YOU CAN DO IT———–YOU’VE ALREADY PROVEN IT.

…………said I to myself in the mirror.

The Sweetest Peace

melianewbornhand

The sweetest peace comes at the most unexpected times… do you know what I mean? Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of tenderest joy?  Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of anguishing sorrow?  Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of heart wrenching loss?

The sweetest peace that washes over you now when you reflect on some past experience… the sweetest peace that carries you through the hardest places you’ve ever traveled… this is the peace that passes understanding.  I think this is the peace that Kara wrote about in her book: The Hardest Peace; I believe it is the peace she now sees Face to face, face to Face — His to hers, hers to His: the sweetest peace. The certain presence of the Lord and the reality of heaven.

My husband brought me her book, The Hardest Peace, when he came home from from a brief mission’s trip to Korea last fall. I didn’t know how much at the time I needed the reaffirmations of that book–how much I needed to seek and find peace in the midst of what Kara simply called, hard.

I kept wanting to fill in the rest of the sentences that read: take a look at the hard. Or, disappointed by the hard.  Meeting Jesus in the hard.  As I read, I kept wanting to fill in the sentences that seemed uncomfortably lopped off.  And then I began to understand.  From the title and subtitle of the book, “The Hardest Peace, finding grace in the midst of life’s hard” to the end of the book — and now to the end of her story, I finally understand.  I finally get it, the why behind the writing style — the why behind the poetic style.  Everyone’s “hardest peace” or “hard” or “life’s hard” is different. And, while she wrote openly about the different ‘hard places’ of her life from the disappointments to the ravages of cancer,  there is much room for each reader’s personal application – each person’s hard or hardest peace is represented in her candid and poetic writing.

It might not be a wayward child, or financial loss, or disease — it may be a disappointment completely different than those three examples.  But it’s still hard.  Some harder than others.  But the resulting peace or the inspired peace will be similar.  It will be that point where the Lord sees and meets you.  The place where His peace is sufficient and “life’s hard” will be filled with, covered over by, and carried by: grace. Clinging to the hand I cannot see, held by the grip that will not let me go.

I cannot count the times I’ve gone through a trial and, because of the grace of God in previous trials, I’ve recognized His unmistakable signature. More remarkable is when this recognition comes in the midst of the testing of faith. In such times I often think: I’m going to need this… I’m going to need everything I’m experiencing or learning in this trial.  All this understanding doesn’t necessarily make the trial easier – sometimes not at all – but it  causes real attention to be given to seeking the Lord, to pray, to wait and to study the trial.  In these times as  I specifically watch for God’s hand to move—I watch for His direction and I’m comforted by His presence.

In this sweetest peace, I’m more prone to praise Him and recount His wonderful works.  I’m more prone to trust as I wait.  I’m more prone to look for Jesus in the midst of the trial and connect the experience to promises in His Word.  In this sweetest peace I’m less likely to give into fear and more resolute to wait on Him.

Sometimes the standing still is hard.  I want to act.  I want to react.  But I find the sweetest peace sometimes comes in the waiting — that peace that passes understanding.  I long for that sweetest peace.  What I long for is that still small voice. After the strong wind, after the earthquake, after the fire: that still small voice of the Lord.  That still small voice that brings the sweetest peace.

Kara knows as she is known… and I’m so grateful to have had but a small glimpse of her remarkable journey in that hardest peace.

Creating Inspired Moments

thestarbucksapronI have a few Starbucks aprons I’ve picked up, second hand, along the way.  One of them has a printed tape inside the top of the apron.  I’m assuming it was positioned there so that it would be seen (and intentionally read) each time the barista positioned the neck strap and donned the apron.

As with many other aprons I have, I’ve worn this one many times.  Until recently, I never even noticed the black tape sewn inside the top band of that apron.  Thus, I’d never read the message intended for the baristas:

We create inspired moments
in each customer’s day.
ANTICIPATE   CONNECT   PERSONALIZE   OWN

I’ve written about aprons a few times — even have some for sale — that’s how important or meaningful aprons are to me.  And I think they ought to have a more prominent role in kitchens.  But that’s another blog-post for another day.

Creating inspired moments… 

 Do I do this?  I mean, do I intentionally work to create inspired moments?  Immediately I dismiss the notion —  I mean, how can *I* create an *inspired* moment?  Inspired moments are, after all, simply that: inspired.  But then I think on this some more.  And some more. I think on Proverbs 16.9: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”  I make plans and the Lord makes/creates/directs inspired moments.

Inspired — from Webster’s 1828: Breathed in; infused; Informed or directed by the Holy Spirit.

So then,  inspired moments are those moments that are composed, directed, or Divinely influenced.  Immediately my thoughts are taken to Genesis 24.27 (Abraham’s servant): “…I being in the way, the Lord led me...”

And then I’m humbled:  Lord, I want to be in the way… I want to be in the way where You’ll lead me.  I want the moments I live to be: inspired moments — the actions I take to be: inspired actions — the decisions I make to be: inspired decisions.

And then I’m inspired:  Lord, will You do this for me, in me, with me?  Can mornings be filled with inspired moments? Can our dinner meals together be not just meals but inspired moments?  Can I learn to watch for opportunities for inspired moments? Can I learn to speak to my children in such a way that it will not be me, necessarily, but an inspired word?  Can I intentionally, daily, work to create an atmosphere of inspired moments in our home?  Instead of mundane dailies, can I work to see my tasks as inspired moments? Can I love my husband in ways that will capture his heart and affirm my desire for him in inspired moments?  Can I live as a woman whose daily walk is one of cultivating opportunities for inspired moments?

O, that I not forget tomorrow what the Lord has taught me today.  When I put on an apron – this, or any other – may I remember the awesome opportunity I have to walk in the way of inspired moments.  May I seek to anticipate, connect, personalize and own the opportunities set before me.  Ultimately, may the Lord be the inspiration of all my moments.