God's Presence: A Change From the Outside In?

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, 

in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

Isaiah 32:18

I have danced up and down the scale few dozen times in my adult life. My problem wasn't information; it was transformation. I could lose weight but it just kept finding me. 

Last spring I had some fairly significant health issues and decided to surrender my battle with food to God's capable hands. His presence gave me the present of health. 

Today I'm honored to tell my story at the website of national fitness guru, Wendie Pett. Come join me there and discover how His presence is a prescription for good health.

What Do You Want to Be?

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!

Psalm 66:5

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Hannah (then 2) cocked her head to right and smiled up at us with the anticipation of our answer. My husband answered first.

"I already am grown up. I'm an accountant. I take care of people's money."

Hannah threw her arms over her stomach belly laughed and pronounced, "Daddy, next time pick something fun."

Over the years my girls have wanted to be veterinarians, dancers, fire fighters, hair cutter girls, doctors and police girls. They may end up being none of those things but I know with certainty I don't want them to wait for adulthood to be.

What I do isn't who I am. What I most want my girls to be they can right now, today, at any age. I want them to be women madly, passionately, wildly in love with God. 

When great passion for God meets any job, His partnership transforms work into purpose. 

I wonder where you are today.

Are you behind a desk filling out reports?

Are you walking the floor of a retail outlet?

Are you at home washing clothes or floors?

Wherever you are, you can be. Invite God's presence into your occupation and watch Him occupy all you are to become all you can be. 

What do you want to be? I want to be His.

Don't Wait for Marriage...

We don't want our daughters to wait until marriage. In fact we don't even want them to wait until the second date. We want them to go all the way with Jesus today.

Our kids spend much of their lives waiting - waiting for summer to end, waiting to get to high school, waiting to get their license or waiting for graduation. I sometimes wonder if all this waiting makes them reticent to dive into faith heart first. 

If you like me, want your kids to have a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus today and not wait for tomorrow, join me today at Encouragement Cafe to find out how... http://www.encouragementcafe.com/2012/09/26/why-wait-for-the-second-date/

Lesson Learned on the Road - Sometimes I Have to Slow Down

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, 

as some understand slowness. 

He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, 

but everyone to come to repentance.

1 Peter 3:9

A blue sky embraced me as I strolled from the cafe to my car. With one hand on my door handle and the other poised to answer my incoming call, I pulled the phone to my ear to the words, "You're right, Dear, I have cancer."

Life slowed down for me that day. I breathed in release as I held my husband, family and future up to God's capable hands. Three months later my precious husband would undergo a radical prostatectomy to eradicate the cancer from his body.

His recovery slowed him down. That first Sunday back at church I dropped him at the front door, checked our little ones into the nursery, used the restroom and still made it to our seats before he did. It took him almost 30 minutes to walk a few hundred yards.

His new, slower pace changed his perspective. He saw people he never noticed before.

The elderly woman struggling through the paces of her day.
The homeless man praying for generosity and the strength to navigate another hopeless day.
The wheel-chair bound youth staring into a future a few feet short of the one he'd imagined.

Sometimes when I'm running I have to slow down too. A slower pace is necessary to cover the distance. When I decelerate I see things I wouldn't otherwise notice. 

The man whose need for achievement shouts at his son to keep the lawn perfect.
My anorexic neighbor who walks with her companion self-loathing for hours every day.
The elderly woman who watches life pass but doesn't participate.

I have to slow down to see the hurting - to connect at their pace. I have to slow down to connect my heart to God's so I can see the people for whom He patiently waits.

Is life flying by you today? Whom might you notice if you just throttled back a bit?

iPray

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

There are some things she's just better at than me. She's a more creative cook. She's a far better artist. She's also my oldest daughter. Sixteen years ago I couldn't imagine a point when she'd surpass my abilities, no matter how limited they may be. But the paradigm shifted somewhere along the way and I'm so thrilled it did. 

This fall I'm leading a Moms of Teens group at my church. Each Wednesday about 20 moms gather together to find hope, encouragement and wisdom for this journey called motherhood.  Prayer is such an essential part of this that I wanted our prayer box to be a prominent part of our room. I decided to fashion an "iPray" box that would resemble an iPhone. This was my way of making our prayers relevant to our teens.

I got as far as covering the outside of the cereal box before I called in for reinforcements from Hannah. I knew she'd have no problem penciling in some appropriate teenager-y apps. While I traveled to speak at a conference this weekend, she completed her assignment. She texted me a picture of her work and as expected it was bright and colorful.

Here's what I didn't expect to see. She had fashioned every app to relate back to our relationship with God. 

The Phone icon reminded me to phone "home".
The Message (texting) icon prompted me to read His message.
The Music icon encouraged me to worship.
The Camera icon invited me to picture Him.

I've never counted but I'm willing to guess I touch my phone at least 100 times a day. What if I formed a new habit of reaching for Him every time I reached for my phone? I could check my heart with every message. Send a prayer with every email. Every ding and ring would be a reminder to connect with the One with whom I most need contact.

So today I'm going iPray, iMeditate, iStudy and iConnect. For the next 24 hours I'm going to make a conscious effort to connect with God every time my phone calls. 

Want to join me in this 24 hour challenge? Tell me today what you think is going to happen and then check back in tomorrow with your results!

Pass It On!

Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

2 Timothy 2:2b

We were just one plane with a minor mechanical delay. Our flight wasn't even full at about 2/3 capacity. What difference did it make if 100 people were inconvenienced by a minor difficulty? The problem is 4200 additional passengers were likely impacted over the course of an average travel day at Chicago's O'Hare International. One impact leads to dozens of others. 

Everyday I am faced with dozens of little decisions. 

Will I speak kindly to the person who messes up my drive thru order?

Will I notice the person who needs a smile?

Will I take the time to talk to a lonely senior?

Just as a flight delay can ripple out to impact thousands more than the original seats on the plane, my seemingly insignificant interactions can have far-reaching fingers. 

Wherever we go today, our lives will intersect with others. We will pass something on to them. Let's allow those we bump into to have an encounter with Jesus because we met them at the crossroad and left them with a heart deposit they can give others.

What He Can Do With Lemons

She wore blue every day but she was buried in pink. She took painstaking care of her fingernails and piled her hair in a dizzying intricate pattern my young brain couldn't follow. She was a diligent writer, a capturer of life and communicator to whom every word had a different, deeper meaning.

My paternal grandmother was like a living mystery. A day with her was like stepping into the pages of an adventure where stories twist but end with predictability's comfort. She was comfortable expressing exactly who she was even if it was in a misunderstood vernacular.

When she passed, her seven grandchildren all asked for a single tin cookie press. He had molded thousands of gingerbread boys and each of our hearts. Her gingerbread boy wasn't content to stand idly waiting to be eaten. He was in a perpetual run - taking in all that was left of his life with wild abandon. 

Since I'm the youngest grandchild, I had zero chance of receiving the most coveted prize from her estate but I did receive this picture of her kitchen that could have been captured on  any day. She celebrated them all with the flare of the extraordinary. Her gingerbread boy was a lot like her. 

Inscribed on the back in her hand were the words:

"Any thyme life gives you lemons...make lemon pound cake."

Lemonade wasn't enough for Grandma. Liquid runs right through you but a pound cake is weighty and substantial. She wanted me to see the set-backs in my life as opportunities to engage my world as she had hers. She wanted me to take what someone else might call failure and fashion a future.

Today I wear turquoise as often as I can. I apply cuticle oil to my nails daily. And I have a passion for communication.

I face challenges as adventures knowing my life will twist and turn but end with predictability's comfort. Someday I will hobble my way to her home in heaven. And any thyme life gives me lemons...I'll make lemon pound cake.

What is your natural reaction when you face disappointment or loss? What difference could the presence of the One who turned water into wine make? If He can do that with water, just imagine what He could do with lemons...