Star-fish

     At our conference this weekend, one of the pastors from our church spoke about building healthy relationships. As a woman, I'm all about relationships, Pastor Ric offered wise counsel in his presentation so I'm sharing his outline below: I. We are all created with a need for intimacy . The result of unmet intimacy needs is either addictions or codependency. If our intimacy needs are not met in a healthy way, we will settle for an unhealthy way.  (Gen. 2:8; Phil. 1:8; I Thes. 4:9) II. The experience of pain is not a unique human experience.  A. Pain is a result of our fallen condition, although not necessarily due to sin in our lives, but due to the fallen world we live in. B. Our faith doesn't make us immune to pain. There's a misconception that if I'm spiritual enough, I won't have pain or be hurt.  C. Even Jesus experienced pain and suffering.  Pain tends to make us withdraw, but God's plan is different, as each part of the body suffers w...

      That really is the question when it comes to my home. Some days I just want to escape and flee the debris and other days when I've gotten things cleaned up and organized, it's just the place I want to be. This question of "Would you rather 'be' in or 'flee' your home?" was brought up by Sherry, our hospitality speaker at our conference on Saturday. I had to laugh to myself, as I could totally relate when she mentioned that "you may go shopping or anywhere but home," if your home is not the "haven" you'd like it to be.      Sherry also noted that "hospitality begins at home with our families." Although, I've heard this before, I'm not sure I absorbed it. Thinking about treating my husband as a guest in our home and making it a place of respite for him, just hadn't sunk into my mind. As a Christian woman, I'm reminded that I'm held to a different standard for my home by God. I must shake off th...

     I am not a mother. I am a step-mother to two grown men and have been in their lives for almost 23 years now, but I'm still not anyone's biological mother. So Mother's Day is a difficult day for me as I'm sure it is for other women who are either desiring to be mothers and are unable to conceive a child or are past their childbearing years and have no children of their own, whether by choice or physical inability to have children. But after some years of pity parties, it was finally time to say, "Enough already, move on!"      So my husband and I have a tradition on Mother's Day. (I'm not recommending it to others, it's just what works for us.) We don't go to church as there is entirely too much "Happy Mother's Day" stuff going around. We go to Starbuck's, which is one of my favorite places to go, (and the crowds are small on Mother's Day) and I order the oatmeal and a cappuccino. Bob saves part of his muffin and feed...

     Today we finished the second day of our women's leadership conference at a local hotel. On the front desk were beautiful green apples for anyone to take. One of our speakers today spoke on making hospitality simple, yet inviting. I thought the apples were a perfect example of simple, yet inviting hospitality. We know hotels work to make people feel at home while actually away from home, but what do we do to make people feel at home in our lives?      Our speaker Sherry, talked about how she invites her neighbors to bring over whatever is in their refrigerator and she pulls out her leftovers and they visit over a simple meal. Sherry mentioned not putting on such a fancy meal that others don't feel able to reciprocate and thus don't feel comfortable entertaining you or others. I had a hard time with this aspect of her presentation as I love to cook and pull out nice dishes as a treat to my guests, not to intimidate them or puff myself up. I'll need to p...

     We are putting on a two conference for women in leadership at our church today and tomorrow. Of course, we've spent many hours preparing, meeting and discussing plans and yet not nearly as much time together in prayer. Again our mindset, although not intentional, is that getting these ladies trained and getting this workshop together depends solely on us. Ironic for a Christian women's group, right? Well, not so much, as Christians we often get the attitude that God simply can't do "it" without us. We must do something!      Here's my prayer for our women today: Lord, our prayer is to be Titus 2 women who will: Grow in godly maturity, Have the attractive aroma of Christ, With cups overflowing, Pour out love to others, Plant seeds of salvation, Then having planted, nurture growth, Remembering always to give You the glory for the harvest. Amen. Our theme is "coffee" so I drew this poster for one of our skits:) ...

     You'll see this saying or ones similar to it on posters, shirts, etc. these days. Today, in my morning reading of God Calling, published in 1978 by two anonymous British women, the reminder is essentially the same, "Calm is trust in action. Only trust, perfect trust (in God) can keep one calm." The Bible says it another way, "Be still, know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).      The nice thing about remembering that He is God and you are not, is that you KNOW you are not in control and thus can remain calm in the storms of life. It's when I want to control everything that it all seems to fall apart and I lose my calm, peace, patience and joy. I will "lose my cool," "come unraveled," "fall apart," "have a meltdown," or just plain "lose it!" But all that being said, if I truly trust in the omnipotence and power of God, then I should have nothing to lose, including my temper. Just chillin' without a ca...

     I received an email from my aunt and mom today saying that they were going to see the lilacs blooming and spend a few days away with my other two aunts. What a blessing these women have been in my life! My mother is as near a saint as they come in raising three kids and being a loving wife through a life of many ups and downs. My aunts have all had their trials and tribulations in raising kids and life in general and yet they are a spirited group of gals. They have spunk!      Over the years I've been blessed to sit around the dinner table at holidays and family events in one of their homes or at a picnic table in the park. They shared sagas of times past and present, good and bad, yet there was always a silver lining of hope. Call it willpower, perserverance, sheer determination or just not knowing any other way; they never seemed to wallow in self-pity or plunge into depression, but instead trudged forward onto the next thing in life.    ...

     This morning I awoke to loud quacking outside my bedroom window. I lifted the blinds to find the source of this morning's revelry; male and female mallard ducks happily pedaling around in our pool! By the time I got my camera to take a photo, the male had already flown the coop, but the female swam cautiously around with one eye on the window.      Since our dog has had to be contained in the house and only taken out on her leash; these ducks as well as other birds have been moving in to claim our backyard. Prior to her surgery our Cocker Spaniel, a natural bird dog, had busily kept the birds out of our yard with regular patrols around the perimeter.      The Bible talks about the people that may believe there is a God, but since He appears to be "away," they go their own ways. They swim in the "pools" of the world knowing that they should be about their master's business, but taking advantage of the fact that He "seems" to be detained...

     Tonight we went to some friends' home to see a movie. They had homemade pistachio ice cream. I'm not kidding you when I say, "That was some of the BEST ice cream I've eaten!" They had made a huge batch and kept filling up my bowl. I know my thighs will be huge by morning! What is worse? I've been dieting and doing pretty well, but I couldn't say, "No" and then I couldn't seem to say, "No more, thank you."      Ice cream is one of my weaknesses. I'm tempted by it quite easily. Why can't I be tempted by cleaning, organizing, exercising and eating right? Why are my temptations usually in regard to things that are not in my best interest? I'm not sure I know that answer, but I have a distance relative named Eve that lost a battle with temptation and we've all been paying for it for thousands of years.  Here's the "after" photo of my messy laundry/craft/dog room. I prayed to have the focus and ener...

     Today I climbed up and down on a chair to dust each book in our fairly extensive library and then later the shelves above our kitchen cabinets, taking all the stuff down and washing it. I told my husband that our dust bunnies had become a herd, more like buffalo than bunnies! I started this job a few days ago and today we broke down and bought a hand vacuum as I was making "mud pies" with the Pledge I was spraying on the dust:( If only I had kept up on this cleaning week by week...I wouldn't have aching thighs and sore hips!      That reminds me of my spiritual life. If I let my time with the Lord go, rather than spending time each day reading my Bible and praying, pretty soon I have "herds of sin" to deal with rather than "dust bunnies" that can be dealt with more easily. As sin gets thicker, it gets dirtier and "muddier" and harder to clean up. Pretty soon you have to bring in a Shop-Vac to put your life back in order with God. A ...

     Today my husband came in from spraying the weeds and smelled like a combination of motor oil and gasoline. I asked him if I could get him a clean shirt. He replied, "It's only on my hands." My thought, It's not only on your hands. So I went into the laundry room and got out some Febreeze . As he approached me, I sprayed him several times in the chest, then I laughed uproariously. He, on the other hand, didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did:)      I feel blessed for the humor God has put into my life by way of funny family and friends. They are not sarcastic or hurtful in their humor, just playful. I believe God has a sense of humor as well since we are made in his image (Gen. 1:27) and we enjoy laughing, so must He. He tells us many times in scripture to "rejoice" (Phil. 4:4) and one of the nine fruits of the Spirit is joy (Gal. 5:22).      It seems the closer my relationship with God through reading and studying the scriptures...

     On an aside today, a friend emailed me and noted her concern over my messy laundry room:) I told her I had spent the last three days cleaning from 4:00am to 7:00pm each day including the laundry room! I have been spring cleaning and it is exhausting, but I must admit it feels good to have things put away, organized and dust free (for at least this minute:) I love this friend and all my friends that hold me accountable to a higher standard of living:)      Anyway, on to today's blog theme: how do you feel about being a servant? I'm reading, Improving Your Serve by Charles Swindoll. In the first section, he writes about his initial aversion to the idea of being a servant. He pictured people with little opportunity or influence when he thought about servants. After further research he was reminded of God's idea of servanthood (pg.7):      "...in God's family there is to be one great body of people: servants. In fact, that's the way to th...

     My fascination with rainbows has been long-lived. In my college dorm room, I once counted over 200 rainbow decorations whether cards sent from others, cups or even towels. In my early thirties, I went through a difficult time and was feeling severely depressed and unhappy. One night during that time I had a dream, one I can remember even now quite vividly.      My dream started with me looking off in the distance at a pastel rainbow. As I stood watching it, it became brilliant in colors and light. I said in the dream, "It's Jesus. Jesus is coming!" Suddenly, I was clothed in a white rob and tassels hung off the bottom of my robe. I began to life up into the sky and the tassels seem to hold presents in the shape of boxes. The boxes began to fall away as I lifted up and I tried to catch them and hang onto them and I heard, "Let go of them." I sensed that they were worries and the cares of the world and as I released them and stood upright; I felt a sen...

     This morning I awoke at 4:44 (don't you love digital clocks:). I decided I'd get up and see what the Lord had in mind for today. After greeting my husband and dog, I brewed a cup of coffee and sat out on the patio listening to the birds. I was trying to pray, but one bird was carrying on a bit much, then my husband came out to chat. Normally, both would seem like interruptions in my time with God, but I sensed I just needed to relax and enjoy the time with nature and especially with my precious man.      Later, I was reading a story in Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul and author, Nancy B. Gibbs talked about the exact thing! To the point of slipping outside and a bird sang and interrupted her prayer time and then her husband popped out to say he loved her! She noted that these "interruptions" were God's attempt to bless her and were not interruptions at all.      Next, I decided to listen to Our Daily Bread   http://odb...

      I got up early this morning, 4:45am. I actually woke up at 3:45, but I talked to God in prayer for awhile and then let my mind ponder the day's events. Once up, I was a powerhouse! Very strange for me as I am a self-professed "night person." That my clock even has the times 4:00-6:00 on it in the AM hours is a surprise to me!:)      The Bible mentions many times that the men and women got up early, here are just a few examples: Genesis 19:27~Abraham got up early... Genesis 28:18~Jacob got up early... Exodus 9:13~The Lord told Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront the Pharaoh..." Joshua 6:12~Joshua got up early... I Samuel 29:11~David & his men got up early... Mark 1:35~Jesus got up early...and prayed.      I have to admit, it felt good to get so much done so early in the day. Those that know me though will figure this is a "one-time wonder" moment, but how can I ignore that so many of God's wise followers, including ...