Wordless Wednesdays (or Happy Halloween Y'all)

 

 

 

How Life Is Good

In the midst of all the news of weather storms assailing our coast and news of political storms battling our country, I wanted to write of thankfulness in a season.  Nothing deep.  Nothing earth-shattering.  But the little things that brought me joy today.

1.  Cold weather.  I know that Houston cold is relative, but I do get to put us all in sweaters and little bit even asked me to buy her boots.  I love the cool snap in the air and the pumpkins on the doorsteps and the fact that Thanksgiving isn't even a month away. 

2.  Glasses.  As in eye wear, not drinking.  Little bit poured my contacts out in her midnight runnings, and yesterday morning I didn't have it in me to pull out new ones, so I donned spectacles.  New glasses that I love but rarely wear because the kids will destroy them.  Everywhere people told me how pretty I looked.  I know it was the glasses because I didn't have time to shower.

3.  Homecoming.  The boys are all home!  You may have read yesterday about the girls weekend being fun but a little bit lonely.  So my whole crew was home last night and eating the very complex crockpot recipe I made for dinner that I pulled together yesterday morning that made me late and ended up in the aforementioned showerless-condition wearing glasses.  The Moroccan turkey stew was too spicy for the kids and I yelled when they spilled milk and "helped" by smearing it all over the kitchen in an attempt to clean it up, but still everyone was home and the chaos was back. 

4.  Power. This morning, millions of Americans are waking up without an electricity and may not have it for days. I remember being in the same situation in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. This morning I used lights, heat, a microwave, a coffee pot, a hair dryer, a phone charger, a radio, and more that all required power to keep it functioning. What an efficiency gift. 

5.  Kisses.  I am a kissy girl.  I smother all my kids in kisses, and they yell "ONE kiss mommy," and I yell back, "no, LOTS of kisses."  But my favorite kisses are from my husband, and I got to kiss him a lot last night and that makes me happy. 

Solo

I had little bit this weekend while Bray took the boys to the farm.  We had a wonderful time.  It is amazing what you can accomplish when you have only one child in tow.  We went for our first pedicure together, we ran errands, we went to church, we voted, we visited the Aquarium and rode all the rides, we had cupcakes at the nearby bakery before shopping for shoes and groceries.  All in all, it was a blast.

But it was also a little lonely.  My mom was out of town visiting my brother.  Bray was gone with the boys.  My best friend went out of town to see her mother.  I visited a new church.  I did not see any family members or friends over the weekend except for little bit. 

I also noticed something.  There were several daddy-daughter combos at the Aquarium on Sunday.  The men did not wear wedding rings, and I assumed, possibly incorrectly in some cases, that this was "their" weekend with their daughter according to the final divorce decree. 

My heart ached.  Physically ached.  I thought how bittersweet the time must be knowing that they would be separated at the end of the day. 

I know divorce.  My parents divorced when I was 12, just as my seventh grade year wrapped up.  We moved to Texas, my father moved around, and I didn't see him for years.  I know that sometimes divorces are beyond the control of one of the spouses.  So if you are divorced and have been through that, I am so sorry, I really do understand, and this post is not for you. 

But sometimes divorces are not beyond our control.  Sometimes there is no massive abuse or abandonment.  Sometimes, the divorce is entirely within the couple's control. 

Marriage is hard.  My marriage is hard.  We have times of being madly in love and crazy about the other person, and then we have times of just being mad and crazy.  I saw part of Oprah's Life Class last night with Joel and Victoria Osteen and Oprah asked them if they had experienced hard times in their marriage.  They said no.  They said they had experienced "growth" times when his father passed away and when they had babies, but no struggles.  I do not know them and that may be entirely true, but I have had hard times.  There has never been abuse or infidelity or abandonment or anything even close to that, but we have struggled.  We have fought.  Then we got through it. 

I love my husband.  Can I encourage you today if you are struggling in your marriage to make a renewed investment in it?  Would you for a moment envision one weekend after another without your kids or your husband sitting alone with children over Sunday lunch only to have to return them to you at dinner time?  Would you please picture Christmases and birthdays?  Then redouble your efforts to make it work. 

You only have control over you, but you can make a difference in relationship of two.  Pray for your husband today.  Tell him you love him.  Tell him how important your marriage is to you.  Go see someone that has counseled Christian marriages together if you need some perspective. 

But make it work.  For you.  For him.  For your kids.  Solo is okay for a day, but not for a lifetime.

Fall Back Into Faith Fridays - Part 7 Fortune

Well friends, we're half way through our Fall Back Into Faith study.  We have covered faith and family and now we're moving on to fortune.  If faith is our foundation, and family is our cornerstone, fortune is essentially what we do.  By fortune, I mean what we do to make money and what we do with our money. 

So over the course of the next three weeks we will focus on three areas God instructs us: Do What God Has Called You/Gifted You To Do and Acknowledge It Comes From Him; Work Hard and In a Manner Reflecting Him; and, Be Generous With What God Has Given You. 

Today is a hard topic for me to tackle.  Sometimes we work at a job because it pays the bills but not because we feel "called" to work there.  While we certainly should not work somewhere that God clearly does not want us to work, we also need to realize that we may have been placed in the position we are in because God has a very specific purpose for us to impact the lives of those we encounter. 

Pray about where you need to be, where God is calling you, but simultaneously pray over where you are today.  The steps you take and the paths you cross are ordained by God to do a work for His kingdom.  You can be a positive force where you sit today.  I constantly catch myself trying to figure out what my life, and my family's life, will look like two, five, ten years from now.  I make these plans and forget to include God. 

If you are a planner, you may be able to identify.  What if instead of looking ten years out we did this:  (1) pray that God would direct our paths today and in the days to come so that we could follow where He leads, and then (2) look at the next ten HOURS instead.  What does God have for me today?  How can I be a blessing?  How can I work to best reflect HIM?

We are told from the beginning to the end of the Bible that God has prepared us to do good work and he will establish the work of our hands, but we must at all times acknowledge that it is He at work in us.  Ephesians 2 says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do," and Jeremiah 29 shares, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…'"

The plans should be God's.  We have to spend time listening so we can participate in His work.  Then, remember that all we have comes from God and the work, and relative wealth it creates, is ultimately His.  Deuteronomy 8 cautions,  "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.  And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

My prayer for me, and for you, today is that of David's in Psalm 90:

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.

 

Further Reading:  Deuteronomy 8; Psalm 90; Colossians 3; Deuteronomy 30

Girlfriends Rock

First of all let me say thanks to the amazing women over at Peanut Butter on the Keyboard for allowing me the opportunity to Guest Post today - y'all head over there and check it out. 

Next up let me say how fun yesterday was.  One of my most precious friends is turning 40 and I had the wonderful opportunity to bring some of her friends together for lunch.  I posted a few pics of the fun outing yesterday, but I have to say what an incredible time it was to gather all these busy working women together to celebrate.  That is ultimately what I want this blog to be about and why I'm so excited about the new website launching next month.  It will really give us busy working women a way to connect when we can't sneak away from the office for an hour and a half lunch.  Let's just recreate it in cyberspace here until we can connect in person again, which is always the best way to connect. 

This is my best friend in the wide world - don't know what I would do without her.  What a treat to get to see her at a party on Saturday and then again at this lunch.  We've been through all sorts of crazy stuff together and I can't imagine getting through the nuttiness of life without her.  She's like the sister I never had. 

This is the birthday girl.  We've been friends for nearly a decade and in 2003 we took a trip to Italy together.  The last guy I kissed before I met Bray was on my last night on that Italy trip with Julie.  We've been to each other's weddings, we've been to funerals, we've been to baby showers, and clearly we've been across the ocean.  She has to brush her teeth all the time and I can't stand to hear people brush their teeth - it was a funny trip.  We both get grumpy when we're hungry.  Her son and my kids are a month apart.  We're both "hunting widows" this season.  What a darling friend. 

I interviewed several women for my book yesterday and, as they shared their tips on the best leadership skills, one woman's piece of advice really struck me.  She said the leadership quality she admired most was the ability to really listen.  To sit still and listen to what the other person has to say.  Don't sit there thinking of your witty reply or persuasive rebuttal while they're still talking.  Take in what they have to say.  I loved this.  I sat at a table full of those kinds of listeners yesterday. What a rare gift. 

I also can't finish today's post without mentioning we went to take our annual pumpkin patch pictures yesterday morning.  Y'all it is 85 degrees in Texas and we were in sweaters to pretend we actually lived somewhere in October where pumpkin patches required sweaters.  We do this every October to capture how the kids grow.  Before the photographer arrived, I snapped a couple of iPhone shots of the kids and when I said I was going to get a few "shots," the baby ask me what we were shooting?  He was very concerned there would be guns involved.  Clearly his father is a hunter. 

 What a gift yesterday was.  I'm so thankful. 

Wordless Wednesdays (Happy B-day J!)

Positive Playlist

I read a blog post recently giving a party playlist.  I looked over the songs and laughed.  They were fun speaker-throbbing songs from the 1970s to today, and I could sing half of them in my head.  The more current ones I didn't know but the titles made me thankful I didn't have those words spinning on a loop in my head. 

Then this morning driving into work I heard Burn for You by Toby Mac and it made me want to dance.  I actually did do a little car dance - I'm sure the guy in the car next to me thought I was high. 

But since I need to lose some weight and am going back on Weight Watchers and back into the gym, it made me realize I need a playlist.  A positive playlist that could wake me up in the morning and inspire me to run instead of walk as well as put positive words in my head as I start the day. 

So here's my positive playlist for any of you headed off to the gym or just in the mood for a little car dancing - I warn you, some of it is old school Christian pop:

Toby Mac, Burn For You

DC Talk, Jesus Freak

Newsboys, Way Beyond Myself (Remix)

Jars of Clay, God Will Lift Up Your Head

Passion (feat. Kristian Stanfill), Not Ashamed

Newsboys, Shine

Creed, Higher

Big Daddy Weave, Let It Rise (if you can FF past the slow bit)

DC Talk, Supernatural

Toby Mac, Get Back Up (Remix)

(Seriously, anything off that Toby Mac Remix album will get you moving and inspired)

I ended with Get Back Up because I love the lyrics, especially if you're getting back on the work out wagon like me:

 

We lose our way, we get back up again
It’s never too late to get back up again
And one day you gonna’ shine again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever

 

And if that doesn't do it for you, put on the Rocky theme song - if that doesn't get you running stairs, then I can't help you: