Monday, October 25, 2010

Introductions


This precious baby girl is Isabella Grace. Her mommy and daddy recently asked J and I to become her Godparents. WOW... what an honor! When her mama asked, my eyes immediately filled with tears. They came so quickly that even I was surprised!! I think one of the reasons for the tears was that I was suddenly overcome with thoughts of a journey. The journey was one between Gina (Isabella's mama) and myself. The two of us are like sisters. There have been moments of unbeatable laughter, as well as moments of hurt and tears. We have been through individual trials in our lives.... and trials that tried to separate us. Thankfully, we serve a God who offers and encourages forgiveness. Our sister hearts have been made new and our friendship is so unique and sweet.

For me, being Isabella's Godparent means praying over her life for ALL her life. I will have the privilege of watching her grow, in body, mind and most importantly, in spirit. She was created for purpose, and I take praying for that purpose in her life very seriously. It's something I pray about for my three boys every day... now I get to pray these things for this sweet little girl too! Isabella, may you always shine the light of Jesus from that precious face of yours.

She is the newest member of "Us", Isabella Grace. I'm so honored and grateful to be introducing her to you...

~ You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Enough is Enough!

I've been reading a very good... very INSPIRING book.

It is called ' A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough ' and it is authored by Wayne Muller. Seriously, it is one of the best books I have ever read! Doesn't the title alone just intrigue you? I don't even remember how I found this book, but once I did... I was hooked.

This book is about knowing how to find "enough" in what we do, who we are and what we have. The reason it has touched me so much is because I have been recently hit hard with the fact that life goes by WAY. TOO. FAST. I know I mention this a lot, but seriously... it's something that weighs so heavy on me. It's something that stares me straight in the face every morning when my three men greet me with their good morning hugs. Over night they seem to grow at least an inch per night and they just change all the time! It's hard to imagine anything sweeter than the smell of a newborn babe, but I can actually say that the tight squeeze hugs that I get from my big boys brings that same sense of joy and contentment as when they were first placed on my chest.

Am I living each day the way I should? Am I focusing my thoughts and energies on the correct things for now? Am I expecting too much from myself... and others? Am I always looking to the future instead of living in the joy of today? I am SO guilty of that latter one... I get so excited about what is coming next in life that I miss what's happening right now. I have written about this before and it's something that I continually pray about. Finding this book has been such a gift because there are so many NEAT words for me to tuck away to remind myself. I'm a word person. I write down special little quotes that I hear, read and even think up myself in a journal. I keep it on my coffee table, and I open that book frequently. I have a framed chalkboard that I write some of these quotes on, and scriptures too... to remind us daily of heart issues. With that being said, you can just imagine how awe struck I was upon reading this little morsel from the book:

" Our journey is an adventure in listening for how we find sanctuary and see more clearly what is good, what is whole, what is beautiful and holy, and what is, in the end, this day, THIS moment, enough. " ~ Wayne Muller

Is that such an incredible thought? Did you notice the part about listening? I am learning that I am to be a better listener to what my sanctuary is. What do I believe to be good, whole, beautiful and enough? It doesn't say anything about what others think of me, or how they might perceive me if I say "no" to something. Others do not make my sanctuary... I do! Truth is, I haven't been very good at this. I am a people person. I love to be doing for others and be around others. I'm not saying that any of that will change, but MY sanctuary needs more balance in this area. Life will never slow down and I will never be able to enjoy THIS moment as long as I am living in a way that demands me to live my life in the fast lane.

I have also learned that I am guilty of always wanting to please others. I believe this to be the biggest reason why it's hard for me to say "no" to something or someone. I don't always say "yes" because I actually want to do what they are doing or be where they want me to be... but I just want to make them happy. So... I will be forty years old in a couple more months, and I'm dramatically making the change. It's so important, because my family HERE... this family that God has so gifted me with IS ENOUGH. The love and mercy that my Father shows me every day, in different ways, IS ENOUGH. The life that He has blessed us with, here, in this home in the woods, IS ENOUGH. Being the wife and mom that God has created me to be, IS ENOUGH.

I find myself lost in every page of this book. It really is incredible. These times are crazy. Life in the fast lane is INSANE, people. I would just like to offer you encouragement... If you find yourself feeling at all the same about any of this.... pray about it. Pray that God will show you something different { maybe it will be in the form of a good book }. Pray that something will take place in you that will make you feel passionate about being able to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... and then live it out. That's where I'm at. I am very passionate about saying it, and now... well, I'm just doing my best to live it out everyday. By God's grace, I will find my sanctuary through this process and it will be whole. It will be beautiful and holy.

It will be joy in EVERY moment... with no moments skipped by. ~

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Facing The Giants

My mind has been a bit cluttered lately. Cluttered with lots of things. When that happens, blogging is the last thing on my mind. It's just too difficult to try to sort things out enough to be able to make any sense.

However, I remembered my main reason for keeping this record of life... It's to do just that... keep record. Even if it means keeping record of the clutter.

Caleb is home this morning. He has caught yet another cold... UGH! One of his favorite movies is 'Facing The Giants'. He has good taste... It's one of mine too. Needless to say, I haven't been able to stick to my usual list of things to do today. I keep getting sidetracked by what's coming out of the TV. This movie has some of the all time BEST one liners EVER! It's one of the only movies that has the ability to make me cry all the way through.

"If we win, we'll praise Him, but if we lose, we'll still praise Him."

How many times are we given that choice? How many times do we make the choice to praise Him and give Him glory in whatever circumstances we are given? I have to admit, I fail Him a lot in this area. Over the past couple of years, I can see personal growth in this area, but I still have a long way to go.

There are giants in my life that seem almost impossible to defeat. Somedays the giants even seem to appear bigger than on other days. My only job though, is to get out of bed in the morning and give God my best. He will take care of the rest. It doesn't matter if it's relational, financial, past hurt or present... God knows the outcome. When I remember this, the giants shrink. They don't seem so threatening anymore. Facing them head on becomes something I strive to do. In that process, I can praise Him... no matter what.

I think of the miners in Chile. What giants they had before them, but over and over again we hear that their spirits remained good while in there for 69 days. The boys couldn't take their eyes off of CNN yesterday. We were in and out of the house all day, but every time we would come in, they would go straight to the TV to check and see if they had all been rescued yet. At one point, one of the boys asked if they were christian men. I told them all I knew and that was that a lot of the people in Chile are devout catholic people. They believe in a God who loves them and wants to rescue them from this life. I believe that the giants that were before them were made smaller by the fact that there were a lot of people praying for them since the first day. They had to have known that their lives were completely and totally in the hands of God, and that He knew the outcome, even when they didn't. I want to believe that their faith was made stronger (as well as many others) in the pits of that very dark mine.

I'm not thankful to have a sick child at home, but since taking time out to watch this movie with Caleb, I can say that I'm thankful this morning for the reminder of praising God in whatever circumstances. The giants that were crowding my brain have already been made smaller.