When Life is not a day at the Park

 Posted by on Thu, May 14, 2015
May 142015
 
When Life is not a day at the Park

There are some moments when time stands still. Fear paralyzes. Life flashes. Heart races. Firetrucks and police cars surrounding the high school. Helicopters overhead. No, this can’t be good. “Lord, let it not be….” “Lord, please keep them safe.” “Lord, what can we do to help them?” Hundreds of questions race through our minds as we are locked on the outside and they are locked on the inside. “Are they okay?” Thanks to modern technology, we could text the kids inside. They already knew the grim news that we were waiting to hear. I got the text, “Apparently someone came [ …read full story ]

Health for your Body and Soul: Arbonne

 Posted by on Thu, May 14, 2015
May 142015
 
Health for your Body and Soul:  Arbonne

I have been using Arbonne products for over a year now. And they are fabulous. I run out and then I pout for a few days until they come back in! Especially my protein shake. I love starting my day with a smoothie, with arbonne protein powder with a little fiber tablespoon , adding almond milk, and a scoop of frozen berries and a spoonful of almond butter (and i say YUM???). Well, it is, and I love it. It gives me fuel for hours, and makes me feel stable (no big dip in high or low blood sugar.) The [ …read full story ]

Lower your Expectations: Live with Grace

 Posted by on Mon, May 11, 2015
May 112015
 
Lower your Expectations:  Live with Grace

I had a happy Mother’s day.  No breakfast in bed, no foot rub, no special card or gift.  I’m not even sure anyone in my family told me happy Mother’s day until the afternoon.  Why am I okay with that? I’d like to think that with age, comes wisdom.  I’ve realized that with these special days, like Mother’s day, or my birthday, or even Christmas, I get MY hopes up and EXPECT someone or something to make me HAPPY. Thankfully, now that I have most likely lived half my life, I have realized the folly in this expectation.  I realized [ …read full story ]

May 082015
 
God's will and free choice: Did I mess up?

Do we really have a choice? Sometimes we ponder God’s will and call it a mystery. We think that it’s something that we must figure out, or we will be off course. We worry; what if I choose the wrong college? Career? Spouse? Home? Church? And so on. We fear that if we make a wrong choice, then we may mess up our lives! I’m so glad we don’t have to guess at God’s will. He has made it clear. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to obey. He wants us to abide in Him. He wants [ …read full story ]

May 072015
 
Lonely, but not alone.  Finding friendship.

  I felt it when I moved across the country. I had two adorable little kids, a loving husband, a beautiful home, a swimming pool, and even a few friends at my new church. But I was lonely. I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. I was going through the motions of the mom-life, doing what had to be done, but I had an ache in my soul that left me feeling lonely. In my vulnerability, I shared my feeling with a new friend. I told her that I felt lonely. She laughed, and said that she didn’t have [ …read full story ]

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“I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

 Posted by on Wed, May 6, 2015
May 062015
 
"I'm sorry.  Will you forgive me?"

Life is full of opportunities to ask for forgiveness because we sin every day!  So often, we miss these opportunities for relationship building because we are moving too quickly.  We rush through life and forget to take care of one another’s souls. Working through problems takes time.  Forgiveness and restoring a relationship takes work.  Soul care is not for the fainthearted.  But it is the mark of a true Christ-follower.  Jesus calls believers to a radical way of life that is full of forgiveness, mercy and love.  Authentic relationships in the family and church will only happen when we start [ …read full story ]

Exposing our Mess: How do you see it?

 Posted by on Tue, May 5, 2015
May 052015
 
Exposing our Mess:  How do you see it?

Why is messiness a theme in my life? Why do I have piles? Why is there a constant influx and outflux (is that a word?) of laundry, paper, food, and Other Stuff? Perspective. There are always different ways to see the same mess. The mess on the chair means that I washed and dried the whites and they are waiting patiently to be carried upstairs. The mess on the other chair means that the sweet boy threw his backpack there to go to the skatepark. The mess in the kitchen means that My People made macaroni and cheese all by [ …read full story ]

Apr 282015
 
Freedom promotes Responsibility; why I let my boys go to the Skatepark

You might say there was a more reasonable choice than picking a green slushie drink on a warm day, but I’d have to argue that its fine and good that one little boy made that choice.  You live and learn from the choices that you make, and if you are not given choices, then you won’t grow. Take a preschooler, for example, and let him pick out his own clothes.  He might look kinda weird with striped shorts and a plaid shirt and mismatched socks, but he chose it, so he’s happy.  Contrast him to the kid that his mom [ …read full story ]

The Journey of Surrender

 Posted by on Sun, Apr 26, 2015
Apr 262015
 
The Journey of Surrender

Why is it so hard to surrender?  I think we have each struggled with surrender since birth.  Have you ever met an infant or toddler that didn’t struggle to get away from a diaper change?  I think we are all like that.  We don’t want to deal with our stink.  And we certainly don’t want anyone else dealing with our stink.  The problem is, we don’t just stink, we bear the mark and consequences of sin in our lives. You name it.  Self absorbance, independence, willfulness, pride, idolatry, greed, envy, power.  It could be any number of root sin issues [ …read full story ]