Actions

 "Intentions don't build relationships."

Yesterday the car place called and they had FINALLY fixed Homer. We do a lot of business with this local establishment, and I'm on a first name basis with multiple employees. We've been countless times without them trying to sell me something I don't need.

This latest repair was most likely their fault.

Yesterday I felt tugged to bake them brownie bites. I tried to ignore it a few times because honestly it's an expensive repair that wasn't in my budget and I have had to inconvenience several other people this week to help us keep commitments.

When I walked into the establishment yesterday, the manager immediately came out to greet me. Ready to take my anger so the younger cashier wouldn't be burdened with that. I approached carrying the cutest card by Peanut (which I forgot to take a picture of!) and the pan of brownie bites, and I could literally see both employees sigh from relief.

The big kids were little puzzled that we were "rewarding" the business with a treat for taking 4 days to do something they originally said would take 2 hours.

I explained to the kids the idea of reaping what you sow. We are going to give them the benefit of the doubt - assume the best. Believe that they are concerned with our safety and wanted to make sure our car was fixed correctly. And we are going to thank them for that. We are taking the high road. The generous road.

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8

The thing is taking the high road is not the normal anymore.

Thinking the best of people - is not the normal anymore.

Giving more than you receive is not the normal anymore.

Mama Warriors, we teach our children our belief system in the small. We teach our children our belief system in how we react and act in the day to day. We show our community Jesus in the small. It's not in the pews at church on Sunday folks, it's in the local auto shop on a Tuesday afternoon.

We don't SAY we are Christians. We BEHAVE like it.

It's not enough to have good intentions.

We have to have good ACTIONS.

Published September 2017

Puzzle Pieces

 "Jesus's invitation is not for us to affirm Him as king, but to surrender to His reign."

I typed out the longest, most real (I know you're shocked) rambling ever - and hit post.

Promptly facebook crashed and then shut down. Disappeared. Gone.

Which reminds me I really should return to paper and pencil.

It seems fitting for today though. In a week's time we went from 3 running cars to 1 car totalled and no running cars. The bug zapper quit zapping the bugs 3 months after purchase. It promised to last 5 years. The dishwasher is making this noise that I am positive is not good. The washing machine makes it to the spin cycle and gets stuck. You have to remember to go turn it off or spins all the day. My computer died a few months ago and I've been sharing with Xman - which has been fine until his time management issue and a digital learning day through kinks into my own work schedule.

I could ramble on but suffice it to say - Murphy, I'm WAY over my 3.

I went downstairs early this week and brought up this puzzle.

Now if my own people knew me well - they'd worry.

They may should start making me a bedazzled straight jacket when that happens.

I've long given up on puzzles being some sort of family fun around here. My teenagers would have to prioritize people over screens and that's a whole different post.

I bring up a puzzle when I can't get the pieces of my own life to fall quite right. And I make tea and I sit. I solve the problem that can be solved - where the pieces go.

As I cranked up the Bethel Music album and sipped my tea, I picked up one piece at a time and thought about this idea of how much we are made to carry.

A few months ago I listened to a sermon that talked about how we view that laundry list of things as our burdens.

What if it's not our burdens though?

What if that's just our load?

Does changing the verbage change your way of thinking?

I've been soaking that idea today. My load is the teenagers, the cars, the appliances, the parent who had surgery....all the things.

Not burdens.

Just my load.

This morning a friend said "It's supposed to be hard."

That resonated big with me.

I think when life isn't easy that we think we aren't happy.

What if the true mission is to CHOOSE joy while carrying your load?

What if happy and easy was never the goal?

Mama Warriors, when my computer crashed, I got my box of greeting cards, a good pen and my address book. I rerouted my desire to make words to what was truly pulling at my heart in the first place.

You see, writing is my exhale. It's how I remember to breathe.

But sometimes I forget it's also my gift. Others first.

I wrote my cards out and the words for those came easily whereas the words to the first time I tried to type this did not.

And then, when the addresses were on, the stamps placed, then I came back and I typed in less than five minutes what took me an hour earlier.

What if we leaned into the load?

What if we CHOSE joy?

What if put the tug first and the want second?

What if we prayed BIG for joy rather than small for survival?

What if we embraced that all the puzzle pieces are ours and we are worthy, competent and able to carry them all WITH joy?

Tell His Story

 "We are not the Author of our story. We are the characters."

I've spent a lot of time helping children work on plot maps for stories over the years. Exposition (beginning), Rising action (where the story develops), Climax, Falling action, Denouement (Resolution). These handy graphic organizers help you understand a story - see it develop, and figure out the author's purpose.

For example, if you think of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The exposition is the when we meet the siblings, the journey to the uncle's home. The rising action is when the children enter Narnia, develop a relationship with Aslan, free Edmund from the White Witch. The climax is when the White Witch kills Aslan. The falling action is the Resurrection of Aslan, and the ensuing battle. The denouement is the children becoming kings/queens and the departure of Aslan.

When you look at the story as a plot map, you can see the course. Where it's going.

The thing about our story is we can't see the turning point. We know our exposition - where our story began. We know what we want our denouement to be - entering the gates of heaven, greeted as a good and faithful servant.

But all that between - the rising action, the climax, the falling action - it's a work in progress.

But there are always plot twists.

Our God is a God of plot twists I believe. It's the twists that turn us to Him.

In any story, it's the suffering that grabs us. It's Aslan being tied down that grips us. The same is true of when He is writing our story. It's the suffering that grabs us. Makes us engaged, connected.

"What if suffering isn't to be avoided but received and embraced?"

What if the trials aren't mean to be danced around but rather for us to bravely face head on? Suffering makes our story richer. Suffering makes us not only NEED Jesus, but gives us a glimpse at the sacrifices that following Him entails. Suffering gives us something to share. A "me too" - I may not have walked your exact journey, but "me too"- I get that walking a journey can be tough. Can be overwhelming. Can feel burdening. Can feel alone.

God comforts us so we can comfort others. So we are able to have "me too" moments.

"We have a good Shepherd. We do not travel this road alone."

Today I'm pondering my story's climax. It seems that it *should* be the moment we ask Jesus into our hearts? That the moments before were just Him being available, planting the seed, opening our hearts.

But then, I've come to learn that there's asking Jesus into your heart and then there's NEEDING Jesus. Maybe that's your climax. Your story's turning point. When you have no where else to go. When you surrender all. When your story truly becomes His story.

Mama Warriors, I don't know what my plot map will look like when it's all said and done. I'm guessing there will be many more moments through the years where I will think I've hit a climax - a NEED Jesus, a restoration of faith, a renewal of spiritual growth. I'm thinking this won't be my only one.

But stories are meant to be shared. To be passed down. To be told. I hope today you are telling His story with your life. With each choice.

Published September 2016

Reach

 "Empathy is only the beginning. We must put legs on that empathy in order for it become compassion."

In between taxi duties today, I decided to treat myself to the one beauty splurge on my list - getting my eyebrows waxed. I learned long ago that I've got no tweezer skills and eyebrows that grow together. So $8 a few times a year is my splurge.

Today I approached the counter and was led into this closet. The only words spoken to me (that I understood) were "Sit here."

And then they left me in the closet with the water heater.

And I STAYED.

As I was sitting in my water heater closet, I got to thinking how crazy it is that there are times that I just blindly follow someone else's lead.

And in that same day, how many times I question and balk at what God asks me to do.

I sit in closets but I won't take His ordained steps.

I began to wonder why that's so.

Sitting in the closet is pretty easy - the time is limited, the reward is predetermined, the cost is printed on the wall.

When I say yes to Him, I often have NONE of the facts. I don't know how long this yes will last. I don't know if I will ever see fruit from the seeds I plant. I have no idea what it will cost me physically, spiritually,emotionally or mentally.

This weekend we are celebrating the Princess's summer graduation (belated) with family.

I've been pondering where the last 17 years have gone.

Just 18 years ago, I stood in a large public school building every day. I came in contact with over 100 students every day. I was finishing my masters degree. Having enlightened conversations with educators each week. I was changing the world - well, a super tiny small piece of it, but I was doing it. I was mentoring, teaching, guiding, and learning.

This week I've been wondering if I've bloomed where I've been planted?

And ever faithful that He is, I've received not one, but two messages this week about touching someone's life who does not live in my house.

And I'm reminded, that I'm called to minister to those in my path.

That I tune into the nudges. That I create quiet space for Him to speak.

I put feet on my empathy and say "me too."

But I also need to not be afraid to say yes.

To sitting in the closet whether I know how long, what for, or what the cost is.

Mama Warriors, I think sometimes we get caught up on the fact that our current mission field is "only" our kids.

But I think it's not.....I think it's our kids friends, their teachers, their friends' mams, their coaches. It's the checkout cashier at the store. It's the person who sits solo next to you at church.

You may have shortened your radius, but He hasn't shortened your reach.

Published September 2019

We Must Try

 "God fills us with all sorts of yearnings that go against the grain of the world - but the fact that those yearnings often come to nothing, well, I doubt that's God's doing. I think we know that's men's doing........We're all yearning for a wedge of sky, aren't we? I suspect God plants these yearnings in us so we'll at least try to change the course of things. We must try, that's all."

In the last few weeks, two books have been handed to me that are set in the same time period. In the deep south, during the heart of slavery.

In both books, we read as the main character is raised in a home where owning slaves is the norm. And in both books, we watch as the main character wrestles with their own heart over the idea of owning people.

I'm going to confess. I read each book within about 24 hours of opening it. Unable to put them down.

Both captivated and nauseated at the deep truths that lie within both stories.

I've been thinking about how in both stories a main character feels deep in their soul that something everyone else believes is okay is most definitely not okay.

And they struggle. What do you do when God stirs your soul?

I wish we could all say we jump right on that stirring. That we get busy doing His work.

But I think for many of us, we at most post on social media about the injustice. Or in the least we do nothing.

When we study history change is only incited when people who feel a deep stirring ACT on that stirring.

Mama Warriors, I don't have a tidy little rambling today but more of a spool unwinding as I process.

2020 is the year of divisiveness above all else.

I feel like there are many things happening in our world today that I am just not okay with. Things many believe are okay but I firmly feel tugged that they are most definitely not.

I hope that each of you is feeling a deep stirring about something.

I pray that each of you ACTS on that deep stirring.

In a sermon I listened to this week the preacher was preaching on the Kingdom of Heaven. And this idea that we've become a society focused on self above all else.

A society that has lost sight of the kingdom.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by they name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

What if WE are the kingdom?

What if His will is only going to be done if we are stirred to ACT?

What if the yearning planted in YOU is the course for change?

We must try, that's all.

Published Sept 2020

These are My People

 "We're all Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) in a way , traveling on a journey with those who are beside us, leaving home only to realize all we want to do is find home again."

Peanut is currently fascinated with all things Pokemon. She collects cards, plays the game, watches the show and reads ALL the graphic novels.

I will admit I'm pretty sure all things Pokemon is a foreign language. I only understand about 1/10 of the excitement that spews anytime Peanut talks. But I'm willing to learn a new vocabulary to be a part of her world.

A few months ago I took her for the first time to a Pokemon swap. The event included prizes for cosplay (dressing up as a character) as well opportunities to swap your cards.

She was nervous. At the time she had 12 cards in a zip loc bag that she had bought at the comic book store on a Daddy Daughter date.

The other kids had big binders with organized cards. They had apps that told you the value of a card. They had knowledge that far surpassed ours.

Peanut had this look on her face when she joined them at the table that I recognized.

The look that says "These are my people."

The kid who lead this swap came right over to introduce himself. Told Peanut he definitely wanted to trade with her.

I can assure you this kid did not NEED a card that Peanut had in her Ziploc baggie.

But making her feel WELCOME was more important to him. He sacrificed some card that made her smile.

These are Peanut's people.

People who care about PEOPLE. People who think outside the box. People who are dripping with imagination and curiosity.

Over the last year, Peanut and I have attended countless churches, youth activities, community events, classes and more. I'm desperately trying to help Peanut find her tribe.

This was the first event we attended where a kid made Peanut feel welcome.

Certainly many adults have scooped her up and made her feel loved. But when I pick her up, she's always solo.

Peanut marches to the beat of her very own drummer.

She's this incredible mix of quirky and unique, thoughtful and kind, smart and imaginative. She asks big questions. She loves big.

As I'm helping Peanut navigate the friendship waters I have to constantly remind myself.

It's not my job to make the other kids like her.

It's my job to make sure she knows she is worthy of being liked.

She's enough just as she is.

Fearfully and wonderfully made.

It's my job to be Team Peanut. To walk along side her as she navigates how to make friends and how to be a friend.

I'm thankful for those that SEE Peanut and love her authentically. For the incredible uncle who remembers she loves Pokemon and buys her the essential handbook we take everywhere we go. For the grandmother who eats a happy meal just have the box and cards to give her. And I know they'll travel on with us to the next phase - whatever that may be.

Mama Warriors, as we all haul our kids to countless events and activities - let's always remind them to be the Jesus other kids see.

Be the kid who trades cards with the new kid.

Be the kid who makes sure no one ever sits alone.

Be the kid that SEES everyone.

Let's be people who SEE our own kids and those kids He sprinkles in our path.

Let's be people who meet them where they are and remind them they are loved for who they are.

Let's be people willing to learn a new vocabulary so we can continue to communicate.

Lap Dog Love

 "Trust is a process, not an event." McBride

Monday morning I took Mo Trouble to the vet for his annual physical. I knew it was possible that something was wrong with his ears because he'd been rolling around on my floor trying to scratch them.

Mo has a double ear infection. A combination of debris, yeast and bacteria have bread deep in his little cockapoo ears. Since they hang low like a cocker spaniel, no air floor gets to them. The vet said because of the depth of the ear infection and how inflamed his ears are - we needed to hit with a slow and steady treatment.

For 30 days I'm supposed to do a DAILY ear cleaning treatment.

I don't know if you've ever tried to clean a dog's ears - or maybe your dog is just better behaved than mine, but Mo Trouble is NOT a fan.

5 days in and he now freaks out at the sight of the ear cleaning solution.

I don't know how good we're doing but I've got a spreadsheet chart and I'm committed.

It ideally takes 2-3 of us to pin him down, find his ears underneath all that hair and get drops in. AND then we are supposed to wipe his ears out. Every single time.

He yelps, barks, fights, tries to run away. It's a whole thing.

I'm consistently surprised though because after we release him, he runs around shaking his ears and then always climbs in my lap.

Always.

He somehow forgives me immediately for what he definitely thinks is torture. He somehow knows that I make choices for his own good. He somehow knows I love him.

He loves me.

We knew when we got Mo that his breed tends to attach to one person. We had hoped it would be a kid, but alas since I'm the doer of all the things. It's me.

I'm Mo's person.

When you're someone's person, you give them a lot of grace.

I think as a society we've forgotten that. We've forgotten to assume the best out of our people. We've forgotten to give people grace. To forgive. To love hard.

Instead we resort to this idea of "ghosting" people. Withdrawing from their lives. Giving them the silent treatment. It all feels really childish to me.

Mama Warriors, we are called to LOVE others.

In a way that doesn't always make sense on a tally chart. We give more grace than we get. We show up in the big and the small because it's the right thing to do.

We expect the best out of people.

We love like Jesus. Because we are loved by Jesus.

We climb in their lap even if they keep putting drops in our ears.