Please Pray With Me

The Women's Ministry at my church is hosting their annual Spring Fling event next month on April 18-19th. This year, for the first time, we are having Shari Braendel from Proverbs 31 Ministries come to do her Real Beauty Retreat weekend featuring the Modest is Hottest Fashion Show on Friday evening, the 18th.

Many obstacles have come our way in the planning of this event. Another fashion show is going on the same weekend as ours. The department store Shari usually works with is doing the other fashion show and only let us know for certain this past Sunday that they would not be able to provide the clothing for our event. A scheduling conflict that prevents us from using the original location for our fashion show the evening of the dress rehearsal. Just to give you an idea of what has been going on and very recently at that. We are now less than one month before the show!

The events that led to the scheduling conflict caused some hard feelings amongst some involved in the planning, myself included. I was irate, actually. Furious, livid, even. (I'm not known for doing anything half-way, emotions included!) I fumed, I fussed, and as we say in the South, "carried on" quite a bit. I was angry and indignant and felt justified in my feelings.

However, after a meeting on Wednesday night, God used my best friend to remind me of how BIG He is, and that maybe I needed to take a step back and look at things again.

You see, my friend is a prayer warrior and very visual person. She used an illustration several years ago that has stayed with me. I use it time and time again. Only this time, she had to remind me of it because I was too blinded by my emotions to think rationally or to see what God might be doing.

The illustration is this. God has a telescope and can see the big picture. His view is much more vast than our own because we see things through the lens of a microscope and are only capable of seeing the very small image on the slide in front of us.

This reminder shook me with a jolt. Earlier in the afternoon the day of this conversation, I had been talking to Shari about the logistical issues involved with changing things at this late date. I said to her that God must have something really BIG (there's that word again) planned because with all the issues that were arising, Satan must really not want this event to happen! The truth is, though, I think those were just words. I don't think I really believed them or took them to heart. I was too focused on the slide underneath my microscope.

After the gentle and loving reminder from my friend, I was finally able to let go of some of the emotions and start asking "why?" had God allowed this to happen rather than focusing so much on the "what."

Here's the thing. If we have the fashion show in the location originally intended, we will be limited to about 300 people. Of course, in my mind, this location lends itself more to the "feel" we thought we wanted to achieve for a teen fashion show. However, if we relocate to the other suggested location, we can accommodate approximately 800-1,000 people!

God began to speak to my heart as I starting asking "why?" and stopped focusing on "what?" I realized that God had the telescope, and I had the microscope and perhaps He had something much larger planned than what we had envisioned for this event. Perhaps He allowed this scheduling conflict to happen because we would be limiting what He wanted to do because we are unable to comprehend just how BIG He really is.

I began to believe and still do that God wants us to pray BIG and believe BIG. It's not enough just to pray that He will do BIG things with this event. We have to BELIEVE that He can and will do BIG things!

To be honest, it's exciting and frightening all at the same time. The event is less than a month away. It's going to require a lot of work. We don't have much time. There are a lot of details to work out.

But, all of that is small compared to my God. He is a BIG GOD! He can do BIG THINGS! My small mind can not even begin to fathom the scope of what He can do. So, I'm going to PRAY BIG and BELIEVE BIG because that's who my God is, and I don't want to be the one who limits other's from seeing and believing that fact as well.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are a mighty, awesome, and BIG God! I love You, and I praise You. I don't know how all of this is going to work out, but I know that You are able. I know that You can do anything. I thank You for wanting to use us. I thank You for forgiving my hot-headedness and desiring to use me in spite of it. Oh Dear God, take our humble offering and do with it all that You desire and are able to do. I believe, Lord. In Jesus Sweet Name I pray, Amen.


BTW, my dear friend, the prayer warrior, is none other than Amy over at Just Keep Praying. Be sure to check her out.

And,

Would you please pray join us in praying and believing BIG for this event? Thank you.

The Sacrifice in Giving

1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4 (NIV)

This past weekend, I watched Oprah's Big Give for the first time. Now, I do not watch Oprah's talk show, but the theme for the Big Give show interested me. As my husband says, "It's right up my alley."

The premise of the show is that contestants compete to "outgive" one another. They think there is nothing in it for them except to go out and change the lives of total strangers, which, in my mind, would be a tremendous blessing. What they don't know is that the "last man standing" will receive 1 million dollars from Oprah.

In the episode that I watched this past weekend, the contestants were given $700,000...$100,00 per contestant as there were seven contestants left competing, to spend in 24 hours. The rules were that they could not give more than $500 to any one individual, and they could not give more than $10,000 in any one location. They also were not allowed to give the individuals cash directly. So, they had to come up with creative, innovative ways to help people without just handing them money. And, they only had 24 hours in which to accomplish their task.

I admit, it was more difficult than one might think, especially in that amount of time. Only one of the seven contestants was able to give away the entire $100,000. Several other's gave away between $60,000 and $80,000.

This is a concept that I have thought about often. I have always wondered what it might be like to have extreme financial wealth and be able to help every person I meet who is in need.

I enjoy giving to other's. It makes me feel good to know that I have made a difference in someone's life regardless of how big or small the offering might have been.

In the passage of scripture referenced above, Jesus watched as the rich put their gifts in the temple treasury. Then He saw a widow give two small copper coins. Jesus said that her gift was greater than all the rest because the rich gave from their wealth, but she gave out of her poverty. She gave all she had to live on. Her gift was truly a sacrifice.

I don't have untold wealth. I can not even imagine how the Oprah's or Bill Gate's of the world live. But there are many in this world who can not imagine how I live. I AM wealthy compared to many people in this world. I give, but I could and should do more.

May the widow in Luke 21 be an example to us all of what it means to truly give to other's.

The Promise of Hope

11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and his father's whole family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12 Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." "Yes, my lord," he answered.
13 Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?"
14 Ahimelech answered the king, "Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15 Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father's family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair."
16 But the king said, "You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and your father's whole family."
17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me."
But the king's officials were not willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
18 The king then ordered Doeg, "You turn and strike down the priests." So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.

I live in North Carolina about 45 minutes from where Eve Carson, Student Body President of UNC, was murdered on March 6th. A random, senseless, tragic death. The men who killed her will now stand trial for first-degree murder.

On Tuesday of this week, a memorial service was held in Eve's honor. That morning, as I was working through my daily devotion by Beth Moore on King David, I read the part in David's story where King Saul murdered Ahimelech and his entire family because Ahimelech had helped David after he fled from Saul. Tragic...senseless, just like the death of Eve Carson.

We live in an evil, fallen world. We have since the first sin in the Garden of Eden and will continue to do so until Jesus returns.

The men who murdered Eve Carson will stand trial in our local court system, and hopefully, justice will be served. Like Saul, who died by his own hand when the Philistines closed in on he and his sons, they will suffer for what they have done. We do not know if Saul asked for God's forgiveness before his death. We are later told that his head was cut off and his body put on display. (See 1 Samuel 31).

These acts were heinous. They inspire feelings of anger and sadness and a desire to see these men punished. And most likely Eve Carson's killers will be. It seems safe to say that Saul certainly suffered for his treatment of David and the murders of Ahimelech and his family.

Still, for the men who murdered Eve Carson, redemption is still a possibility. It came in the person of Jesus. All they need do is ask for forgiveness and it will be given. "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:1

Tomorrow is Good Friday, the day we as Christians recognize as the torture and crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As He hung on the cross, He saw Saul. He saw the men who murdered Eve. He saw me. He saw you.

And with a love we can barely even begin to fathom, He uttered the words, "It is finished," and His Spirit went to be with His Heavenly Father, the same One who is a Father to you and to me.

I am humbled. I am overwhelmed. I am more grateful than mere words can express. If I had been the only one here in need of saving, He still would have come. And He would have come only for you.

And as we celebrate His defeat of death and evil on Easter Sunday in the form of His resurrection, won't you join me in praying that those men find the hope that we have?

A Gentle Reminder

The attached devotion was in my inbox today. I am struggling with time management right now. How to prioritize my time. How to figure out how to make the most of the time I have each day. I find that making lists helps me. I HAVE to have a routine. Otherwise, I get distracted. And, if I am honest, when the seemingly overwhelming tasks that lie before me seem more than I can do, I go do something else.

I need to be a better steward of my time. I have known this for quite a while. I need to make more of an effort. I know that I feel better about myself and how I am caring for my family when I do. So, again, the question today is...Why not do it now?

March 18, 2008

Today is Tomorrow
By Melissa Taylor

“Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’---when you now have it with you.” Proverbs 3:28 (NIV)

Devotion:
Many times, I don't want to do, or think, about what needs to be done today, so I put it off until tomorrow. Can you relate? I've noticed that often tomorrow gets pushed back daily and then when I finally do whatever it is I've been putting off, I end up stressed out, in a rush, in a bad mood, or convinced that I don’t need to do that task at all. Here are a few of my “I’ll think about that tomorrow” things:"I'll start my diet...tomorrow.""I'll start my quiet time...tomorrow.""I'll clean my house...tomorrow.""I'll read to my daughter...tomorrow.""I'll call my friend...tomorrow.""I'll go have lunch with my son...tomorrow.""I'll take brownies to my neighbor...tomorrow.""I'll spend some quality time with my husband...tomorrow""I'll __________________ tomorrow." (fill in the blank)God gave us 24 hours in each day. How I use those precious hours is up to me. Although I may not be able to complete every task assigned to me in a single day, to continue to put off important things that need doing is not being a good steward of the time and tasks God has assigned me.

For a while in my life, I was so bad about putting my goals and tasks off until another day that I got behind in everything. My life needed changing. I wanted to change, but my choices didn’t reflect that. I was choosing to sleep instead of get up and have quiet time. I was choosing burgers and fries over a healthy soup and salad. I was choosing to play instead of do the laundry. I was watching TV instead of exercising. I was spending time with friends but not my husband. Day after day, I had good intentions to make necessary changes in my life. Day after day, I put them off until tomorrow. Eventually, I felt like a failure.

One day while I was feeling discouraged about putting off things until tomorrow, I was reminded of a lesson I learned a few years ago, after we planned a trip to Walt Disney World. At the time my daughter, Hayley Grace, was 3 years-old. We booked the trip months before we actually went, and I made the mistake of telling Haley Grace about it. Each day she’d ask, "Are we going to Disney World today?"

I would say, "No Hayley Grace, we aren't going for 3 more months." Then "2 more months ...1 more month ...3 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week". The night before we were leaving, I announced the news she’d been waiting for. "Hayley Grace, we are going to Disney World TOMORROW!" She was so excited!! The next morning she came running into my room before I was out of bed and the first words from her mouth were, "Mommy, Mommy, is today tomorrow?" I proudly replied, "Yes! Today is tomorrow!"
I’ve decided that I am going to make today my tomorrow by moving into action. Instead of wasting precious time, I want to look at what I've been putting off until tomorrow and put it in action today. The Lord has great plans for my life. I would hate to miss them because I was not embracing the changes He has placed on my heart.

Will you join me? What changes, goals, or intentions have you been putting off until tomorrow? Take a look at your current “to-do” list and make it a “to-day” list. Not only will you have a sense of accomplishment, but you’ll also make a difference today. Today is tomorrow!
Dear Lord, It never seems like there are enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. Help me to discern the important from the unimportant and set my priorities in a way that is pleasing to you. I pray for daily discipline and motivation to get started today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
A Woman’s Secret to a Balanced Life by Sharon Jaynes and Lysa TerKeurst

The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized by Karen Ehman

Visit Melissa’s Blog

Application Steps:
Before bedtime tonight, make a list of changes or things that you’ve been putting off but want to get done. Place a number beside each one, ranking them in the order that you believe God would choose them. Pray and decide how you can implement the changes into your life. Call a friend and tell her about it so you’ll have someone to hold you accountable.

Reflections:
What is keeping me from doing what needs to be done today?

Power Verses:
Proverbs 3:28, “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow’-when you now have it with you.” (NIV)

Proverbs 27:1, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (NIV)

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (NLT)
© 2008 by Melissa Taylor. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org

Day One

Have you ever driven someone else's vehicle and some of the controls such as the gearshift or emergency brake were in a different location than in your own vehicle? Did you find yourself reaching for that gearshift in the location where you are used to it normally being?

I was driving my husband's truck this past weekend and kept being thrown off every time I went to shift gears. In my car, the gearshift is in the center console. On my husband's truck, it is on the steering column. Without thinking, I would reach for the gearshift where I am used to it being in my own car. I didn't have to think about it. It was second nature to me. I do it so often that it was force of habit. I only had to think about looking for the gearshift in a different location.

I started thinking about the spiritual implications of this. My relationship with the Lord and the spiritual disciplines in my life should be like reaching for the gearshift in my car. They should be so ingrained in my subconcious that I do them without having to stop to think about them. Whenever life comes my way, it should be second nature to me to talk to God in prayer. I once heard the phrase, "go to the throne, not the phone." Love that one!

I should be able to recall scripture verses as easily as snapping my fingers. Starting each day with the Lord should be a habit, not something I either move down in the list of priorities in my day or skip altogether because I have other things I feel I must do. Why do we not feel that way about spending time with God? Why does it seem that it is an item on our to-do list that we feel relieved when we check it off or guilty when we fail to do it? It should not be that way.

When I use the term "habit," that is not to say that I just go through the motions. That goes back to checking it off on my to-do list. Go grocery shopping. Check. Pick up dry-cleaning. Check. Make dinner. Check. Take daughter to gymnastics. Check. Read Bible and pray. Check. However, it should be automatic.

It is said that it takes three weeks to establish a habit. I want spending time with God and responding to Him first rather than second, third or fourth to be instantaneous. That is as it should be.

If you are like me and still need to establish some new habits, what do you say we all make today Day One? While it may be too late to begin the day with the Lord, it's not too late to spend time with Him, and since we have no promise of tomorrow, why not do it now?

Makeover Monday's

I am a guest this week at Makeover Monday's. Makeover Monday's is a four-week online Bible study hosted and authored by my special bloggy friend, Alene. You can also get great skincare and glamour tips. If you haven't checked it out before, you can still jump in. Also, be sure to leave a comment. Alene has a giveaway each week, and this week it will be your choice of a Mary Kay lipstick from yours truly.

You'll also want to visit Alene's personal blog. She is a speaker and author who wrote a Bible study titled Dirty Laundry Secrets.

Again, be sure to leave a comment when you visit Makeover Monday's. You can even comment more than once to increase your chances of winning. Good luck!

Happy Palm Sunday!

Spiritual Depletion

My post Tuesday hinted at how the last week or so has gone. I am tired, weary, and worn. Ummm, I think that's a line in a song...but I digress. As I was saying, it's been a little rough. Here's what I realized today, though. I have allowed myself to become spiritually depleted. Yep, I sure am.

I have been staying up late at night, not for anything really important. Monday was an exception (trip to the ER and all that), but the rest of the week...time in front of the TV and computer does not generate anything especially earth-shattering. That's not to say there's anything wrong with watching television or sitting in front of the computer, unless of course, you stay up too late and then can't get out of bed the next morning in time to have some one-on-one time with God. This is the situation in which I have found myself this past week.

I'm not really sure why I continue to allow this to happen. It's like this never-ending cycle I seem to go through. I know better, or at least you would think that I should. It's not like I haven't travelled this path before. I know what happens to me when I start allowing my time with God to slip. Spiritual depletion. And it stinks! It carries over into everything else I do. Oh my gosh! Have I been a grump this week! I nearly decapitated (figuratively speaking, of course) my poor husband yesterday, right after he came home from work no less! My sweet daughter hasn't faired much better. I mean, I'm not running around yelling and screaming at everyone, but I'm just short on patience, and I can tell I'm grouchy and not very pleasant to be around. I have found myself apologizing a lot because I hear myself, and I think, "Oh, that sounded terrible!" But, I just can't seem to control myself. I feel so irritable.

I ran out first thing this morning to get my hair cut. When I returned home, it was nearly lunch time. I was making a sandwich for myself and thinking how tired and grumpy I felt yet again. And then it happened. I heard the voice of God so clearly (in my heart, not audibly). He said, "My child, if you would stop everything else and spend some time with Me, you would feel a lot better."

I knew it was true. So, that's what I did. And you know what? I do feel better. I feel calmer, less grumpy, and a little less tired. I also decided rather than beat myself up over letting this happen yet again, I would just ask God to forgive me and realize that this very moment is a new beginning. I don't have to wait until tomorrow or next Monday. I can start right now. That's the beauty of God's mercies. And where there was a frown, there is a smile, not only on my face, but in my heart.

The Measure of Forgiveness

*Edited for typo..I know it's way past when this was published, but I saw it and just couldn't leave it that way! For those of you who get this via email, sorry for the duplicate!

It has been a rough few days. My sister-in-law called about 7:00 last night and said she had just left my brother at the emergency room again. Bless her heart! She was so upset. She had to take their four month old home and feed him, so she called me to come sit with my brother at the ER. Besides being concerned for my brother, I felt so bad for my sister-in-law. She so wanted to be with her husband, but she had to take care of their child as well.

He had had a very stressful day at work and had been having pain on the left side of his chest since about 4:30 yesterday afternoon. The pain ran down his left arm, and he was also having tingling in his arm and was experiencing some numbness in his fingertips. Needless to say, they were scared and very concerned. They called the doctor and were told to go to the ER.

By the time I arrived, my brother had been taken back to have an EKG done and sent back out to the waiting area to be seen. The EKG was normal so I guess he got bumped down on the list of when to be seen. Truly, the place was a zoo! I'm praying none of us end up with the flu now! The good news is, my brother is once again okay, but we sure had a scare again.

The events of the past few days have reminded me yet again how short our time here is. I have also been reminded of how important family is.

In the One Month to Live book, I am in the second section titled Love Passionately. It talks a lot about relationships. I took a survey on the One Month to Live website and discovered in answering the questions that one of the things I would change if I only had one month to live is there are some relationships in my life that need some work. There are things that have not been said that need to be said. Feelings that have been hurt that need to be mended. Forgiveness that needs to be given whether I feel like it or not because God commands that we forgive just as He forgives us. One of the points the authors make in the book is that we have difficulty comprehending the full measure with which God has forgiven us. If we could truly understand it, we would better be able to forgive others.

My family is far from perfect as are all families. Actually, we are quite dysfunctional. There are many issue-laden dynamics that take on the "elephant in the living room" syndrome. But, they are my family. They do the best they can, and I love them. I am far from perfect myself and will forever be a work-in-progress as long as I am on this earth. God has pulled me out of a number of pits, and while I am aware of much for which I have been forgiven, I am sure there is much more that has not even penetrated my consciousness. From now on, I hope to make more of an effort to have that awareness and to forgive as I have been forgiven.

Blessings,

I Did It

I did it. I signed up today for the 30-day One Month to Live challenge. I am moving forward. I'm tired of being afraid, and I am ready to start living the life God has planned for me. We are not promised tomorrow. I want to live as if I really do only have one month to live. I want to see what God has in store for me.

What about you?

Blessings,

No Promise of Tomorrow

4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. John 17:4 (NIV)

Something very unexpected and unsettling happened last night. It was about 10:00 pm, and I had just gone to bed. The phone rang. I knew it was either a wrong number or something was wrong. When I looked at caller id and saw that it was my sister-in-law's cell phone number, I knew it was the latter. I answered the phone with my heart pounding waiting to hear what she had to say.

She told me there was a "low-grade emergency," and she and my brother needed my help. I asked what was wrong, and she told me that my brother had gone outside to reset their hot water heater because the hot water wasn't working. He removed the panel to get to the reset button thus exposing electrical wires. He accidentally touched the wires and was shocked. Two hundred and twenty volts of electricity. Thankfully, he was not knocked out and was able to go inside and tell her what had happened. However, he was light-headed, felt "spacey," was feeling pressure behind his eyes and was having trouble focusing his vision. They called their doctor who said while my brother was probably okay, the doctor would prefer they go to an urgent care center. They did and were told they should go to the hospital.

My brother and sister-in-law have a four month old baby, my darling first nephew, who they were dragging out at 9:00 last night to do all of this. They called me to come and stay with the baby while they were at the hospital. I, of course, threw on my clothes, grabbed my pillow, my slippers, and a book and headed out the door as quickly as I could.

We live about 35-40 minutes apart, so it was going to take me a bit of time to get there as it was. Then, I got caught in construction traffic on the way! I was trying not to lose it, but I found myself feeling overcome with the emotion of it all. I knew that my brother was most likely okay, but I nonetheless called my best friend and asked her to pray and then spent the remainder of the trip over praying myself.

Fortunately, my brother is fine. Thank you, God! But...this could just as easily have gone the other way. I have been wrestling this afternoon and evening with the emotions all of this has evoked. We are not promised tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I am not even promised that I will have the opportunity to finish typing this post.

All of this has really gotten me to thinking. I have been posting recently about the book One Month to Live and the struggles I have been having with moving forward in faith towards the purpose for which God has called me. I have realized that part of my problem with the 30-day One Month to Live challenge is the idea of only having one month to live and what I would do differently. This concept just has not been real for me. I haven't been told that I only have one month to live. But after what happened to my brother last night, I am rethinking this concept.

Jesus spoke the words in the verse at the top of this post. He did not begin His ministry until He was 30 years old, and in three years' time, He was able to say to His Father in heaven that He had completed the work God had given Him to do.

I realized today that if I saw God face to face tonight, or tomorrow, or even next week, that I would not be able to say that. I have known that I wasn't moving forward in all that He has called me to do. I have been afraid. Now I'm afraid not to. Not because I'm afraid God will punish me, but because I know He has a purpose for me. That purpose is why I am here. It's what I was made for.

And after the events of the last 24 hours, the concept of how would I live my life differently if I only had one month to live is not so foreign to me. It's actually quite real and in my face now. No, I haven't been told I only have one month to live. But then, I haven't been told I have more than that either. Suddenly, the fear I have been feeling seems very minor and irrelevant now. Suddenly, I feel a sense of urgency about moving forward in God's plan. My success or failure does not depend on me. It depends totally on Him. And with God behind me, hopefully, when I do see Him face to face...whenever that may be...I will be able to say that I completed the work He gave me to do.

Blessings,

Am I On Candid Camera?

Do you ever have one of those moments when you just know that any second someone is going to come out and tell you that it's all been a cruel joke and you were really on Candid Camera? Well, that is the direction my day has taken, which is why I am now sitting in front of the computer sharing it with you. I am afraid to do anything else for fear of how it might turn out! Kidding! Anyway...

The day began just like any other day. After my husband and daughter had left for work and school respectively, I began the process of cleaning up after breakfast. That's when it happened. I went to the pantry to put something away. First, I smelled it. Then, I saw it. Something had leaked, exploded, thrown up?!? Who knows? Regardless, it had made a giant mess! But that was only the beginning of my Candid Camera moment.

So I began the process of cleaning the stuff up, but then I saw there was a mess inside of a mess. Molasses had leaked also and had formed a hard bondo-type formation underneath a box of spaghetti.

How does molasses leak you might wonder? Well, if you turn it upside down in hopes of getting that last little bit to run to the top and leave it that way....not only will it come to the top, it will leak out under your box of spaghetti. Of course, said spaghetti is in the way of the exploding can of mandarin oranges, so you try to remove it in order to clean up both messes. However, you discover that molasses makes great cement. The box will not budge. You apply as much pressure as you can muster to the box of spaghetti which eventually gives way leaving behind only a small portion of the cardboard box in the cement molasses. But wait! The end of the box of spaghetti is not secured and spaghetti noodles go flying everywhere. And just to make sure your life is complete, as you step down off the step stool on which you have been standing, you do so right in the middle of a pile of noodles which break into many pieces under your feet thus adding to your already huge mess!

Alright...I give up. Where is the camera? I know it's here. It must be behind the can that blew up because this just can't be happening on its own.

All I can say is this, scenarios just like this one are the very reason why we need to begin each day with God! Thankfully, I had done so this morning. Otherwise, I may have just gotten in my car spaghetti-filled slippers and all and driven off for parts unknown!

Blessings,

Moving Forward With the Fear?

I am feeling very unsettled today. I still haven't signed on to take the 30-day One Month to Live challenge, although I am continuing to read each day's entry as it comes. Today is Day 6, and it talks about a couple of the reasons why we don't live out the life God has for us. The second reason discussed is fear. Hel-lo! That would be my reason. Why am I afraid? The truth is, I am afraid of failure. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I haven't ever tried anything and failed at it before. That has happened plenty of times. For some reason, though, this...thing...this path I think God is calling me to with Mary Kay is different for me.

I go to the meetings and the conferences, or at least I used to go. I actually quit going months ago because it was too depressing. Anyway, I would see all those women who have been, and still are, wildly successful in the Mary Kay business. They are living out their dream, but I simply don't see it for myself. I think part of it is a carryover from my mom.

My mom's entire life was one big, unfulfilled dream. Dreams...she had lots of them. I know because she talked about them. I saw her attempt to start living out each one. I watched her take more first steps than I can count. Our house was full of the ruins of each unfulfilled dream. I wonder if it contributed to her eventual descent into another world. I know that mental illness is an actual disease. Still, I can't help questioning whether or not things might have been different if she had seen even one of those dreams come to fruition. She couldn't make it happen in her own strength, and apparently, she either didn't know how to ask the One whose strength could make it happen, or she chose not to take it when He offered it. I don't know, and she may never be lucid enough again for me to ask her.

I do not wish to leave behind a legacy of unfulfilled dreams to my own daughter. When I am no longer here, I hope my daughter will be able to say, "My mom loved God with all her heart and pursued His purposes for her life with everything she had." A field of dreams lying in ruins is not the image I want her to have. The one I have of my own mother is enough for both of us. In order for me to do this, though, I have to get past this fear...or maybe I have to move forward in spite of it.

Blessings,

Ben Stein - Expelled

Thanks to my new bloggy friend, Compassion Dave, for making me aware of a new movie coming out in April. God can use anyone and anything. I am now anxious to see what He will do with this. Go watch the trailer for Expelled now!

Blessings,

Jesus and Compassion

Jesus and Compassion is the title of a blog I found today. The author's name is Dave, and his ministry is with Compassion International who I mentioned in my post yesterday. Dave's heart for this ministry and the work they do for children and their families comes through in his posts with resounding clarity. He shares stories that will move you to tears. I urge you to visit his blog by clicking on the link in this post or in my sidebar.

God Bless you, Dave, for the work you and Compassion are doing!

Blessings,

The Least of These...

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Because the sickness grunge has hit our household again, I laid on the sofa all day yesterday watching television while my daughter was at school. I caught up on the episodes of Life Today that I TiVo Monday-Friday.

Life Outreach International is a ministry founded and led by James and Betty Robison. Life Today is their weekday television program. Life Outreach focuses heavily on international missions, specifically with providing clean drinking water for children and their families in foreign countries. Yesterday's episode focused on their current clean water campaign called Water for Life. To view all or a portion of the show yesterday, click here.

It will break your heart to watch those small children drinking water that I wouldn't give to a pet. I don't flush my toilet with water that looks like that, and these children and their families drink it because it's the only access to water that they have. Life Outreach International goes in and drills water wells that will supply these people with water for life. The cost of one water well is $4,800. That amount allows them to place a well in a strategic area that will provide water for a lifetime to an average of 1,000 people. Forty-eight hundred dollars may seem like a lot of money for one person to give, but do you know that for a donation of just $24, 5 people can have clean water? Forty-eight ($48) dollars will help 10 people, $72 will help 15, and $144 will provide for 30 people. I urge you to go view the video at Life Today and prayerfully consider a donation of any amount to support this crucial ministry for children and their families in need.

Another organization to check out would be Compassion International. We have been sponsoring a child for a couple of years now. Her name is Ashwini, and she is appoximately five months older than my daughter. If Ashwini lived here, they might very well be friends. But she doesn't live here. Nor does she have access to all which my daughter has access. To read more about recent Compassion trips blogged about in the Christian community, visit here, here, and here (thanks, Janel, at Dandelion Dayz for the link).

I believe in these ministries and what they are doing with all my heart. God has not called me, at least not yet anyway, to visit the places where these who are suffering live. But I can monetarily support "the least of these." Won't you please consider doing the same?

Blessings,