Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sedentary...

What to write...what to say...after a very hard couple of weeks I finally had a bit of reprieve. I went up to Grouse Mountain with a friend on Saturday and spent a wonderfully relaxing day. The company was fabulous, the scenery exquisite and the cold snow covered mountain seemed to calm some of the angst I have been experiencing! Top that with an amazing dinner and well...life suddenly seemed a bit more bearable.

Work is still a bit stressful but I can't change it and can only do what I can do sooooo....I just keep on plugging away at the work, come to terms with the fact that I will not be caught up for awhile and do my best to keep the books in that our customers want...hopefully the system will start working the way it supposed to, if it does I can see how we may eventually like it :)

This weekend I manged to injure my knee, it has bothered me before but never this bad. I am sporting a new brace that reminds Jordan of Robocop....thanks kid! Although it makes it easier to walk, there are very few articles of clothing that will fit over it...dang huh!! The drugs have helped to drop the swelling and the pain is bearable at the moment. One doctor says surgery, the second opinion says physiotherapy...I would love to not have the surgery so I guess some of my sedentary habits will have to change..

I am not enjoying this idea of getting older, seems to be depressing me a bit (no, not enough for drugs...just a bit of a pity party) I am so tired...I have been looking after my family for a very long time so when I finally get home I have little energy left for anything...this is part of the problem...I need to rearrange life to include more exercise, I know this can only happen if I start to get up at 5 am again, there just is no energy left at the end of the day. I am by nature a night owl, unfortunately with some of my life choices, that is not really an option so I must once again force myself to go to bed early and get up early and get off my lazy butt to move!! Nothing like pain to motivate!!

That is an update on my physical world but lets change gears for a moment....when I started write this blog, my thought (hope?) was to write something of significance, something that would be helpful or encouraging in some way....I am not sure that I have managed to do that...but as I reflect on the past few weeks I am seeing a pattern emerge. I am not sure this is the place to examine it so I will simply confess to seeing some things in my life that need to change. I need to spend some more time with God as well, I have been so busy that I see Him in passing but don't have a lot of time for coffee and reflection with Him...this needs to change, I am sure when it does some of the other things will fade away. As I took some time this morning Romans 8:18 & Luke 6:23 stood out....I see a theme and obviously need to look a bit more closely at it. This is one of the things that I read and it made me sad as perhaps I have been feeling this way deep down.

"Those who rebel against their suffering, however, are still hoping in here and now. Somewhere deep inside they (I?) had expected a better deal in this life and not yet invested their hopes in God's kingdom. They had an agenda for this life that didn't fit with His". ~Chris Tiegreen

As I read this I could not help but wonder, did I invest my all my hopes in God but forget that includes His Kingdom? Since we are not there at this moment, did I expect more of this life and subsequently appreciate less? Have I forgotten to jump for joy at what God is preparing and allowed myself to fall victim to the lies?? It is definitely worth contemplating...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Change...

The last few weeks have been filled with emotion and change...good and bad.

Gallery 7 has started off on a great note. Peter Pan had a sell out weekend and the show is amazing, we have some great talent in this town and I am proud to be a part of it...not on the creative side but someone has to do the behind the scenes type of stuff. I am fortunate to work with some great people who I get to call friends...that is important to me. Although it is a lot of work at times, there is also a lot of laughter and I love it!!

Work had been quite stressful as we change our operating system...crazy at this time of year, perhaps but quite necessary. Unfortunately it has been kicking me in the behind....it has some really great features but for my job it seems to be much more convoluted, it requires much more work and way more key strokes to do the job. I have been very frustrated as I am unable to do the job I have spent at least 8 years learning to do...up until last week I did it well....this is a hard pill to swallow. Add to that the fact that my very good friend, someone I have grown to love, is leaving and...well it kind of sucks. Now do not get me wrong, the reason behind the departure is one of great joy and happiness...a miracle in the making and I am thrilled for her. A beautiful little man (well I think it will be a boy) is about to make an entrance!! That said there is still sadness, you see I have gotten used to seeing her beautiful smile at least 4 days a week. Combine that with the chaos that is our job environment right now and I feel we have not been able to give her a proper good bye...oops, I mean 'see you later '. My friend if you read this, know how valuable you are in the cog that keeps us running, I shall miss your smile, creativity, organization and lists!! You are going to make a wonderful mommy and that little bundle has started his live extremely blessed!!!

Changes....most times I love them but it seems as though they are coming in rapid succession right now and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by them....

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Perspective.....

If truth be told, today I feel like crap!Picture this, I am sitting home wondering about what kind of things my old (pre-married) life may have held for me and how that would change my life and quite frankly with the mini fever I am enduring this was going to turn into a pity party in a hurry.

I realized I had not written for a very long time, so I thought I should get my act together and write something and since I have a very small following (thanks Kim & Cyndy) I knew I could just write whatever I was feeling and go to bed.....and then I saw my last post.

Yup, life is so often about perspective. Last time I wrote it was about some amazing friend, of which I still have but today I somehow feel tired and lonely....I still have my great friends, I still have a job and I still love my kids so what is with the feeling of discontent?? I am hoping it is in part the way I am feeling physically and not an indicator of my mental health. That said I think I shall head to bed and spend some time praying that God removes this cranky mood so that I can get on with my week. I wonder sometimes how much a personality transplant would cost...hmmm...I think I will research that another day.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Friends make us rich.

There has been much going on, I have been busy with a number of projects but it seems as though they just meld into one another. Work, Gallery 7 (be sure to check out Peter Pan), kids, friends, and trying to look at a new business....that is just a typical week :)

What stands out from this week is friends...I have a boat load of super fantastic friends!! These are the people who know me the best, who love me the most and who enjoy spending time with me! I am very blessed to be surrounded by loving people who genuinely care what is going on in my daily life. Sometimes I feel guilty as my life tends to be very busy and I feel as though I do not have enough time...but anytime I am fortunate enough to have an evening for my friends it is as though we have never been apart and I enjoy catching up with them and their lives...

Last week I had dinner with a friend that I had not seem for 22 years, it was like no more than a few days had past....this week I had dinner with my friend who has stood by me through the toughest days of my life, how I love her....I have a friend who is about to start a family and I was able to play with her belly and bond with her new baby, thank God she loves me enough to allow me this personal space invasion :) ....Saturday I had coffee with a relatively new friend who knows me so well it is sometimes scary, how I love that she does not fall for any crap....an old friend called me, I was able to give her words of encouragement as she goes through one of the roughest times of her life, they were definately God given.....tonight a friend brought me fabulous, warm chocolate cookies while dressed in her jammies cuz I asked her to on facebook (I did not expect her to show up but was glad she did)....These are only a few of the friend encounters that I have been priveledged to experience this past week and I must say that to look at them this closely I realize that God has blessed me much more richly than I deserve!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Well this is frustrating...

I want to update this blog...I am halfway there but for whatever reason am having a hard time with some of the font size and gadgets....it makes me want to use VERY unpleasant language. Why, because it makes me feel inadequate, it means I still can not use computers properly and quite frankly that drives me crazy!!

Oh well I have spent more time than I care to trying to fix it so for now it will stay like this, one day I will get some help and see what the heck I am doing wrong....until then I will just continue to ramble my thoughts on to the pages of this blog and hope that someone will actually find it somewhat interesting....if not, I guess it is still better than watching TV .

This past week has been busy--I am never sure where the time goes but I always seem to be on the go and there is never much time left over. Sunday marks the beginning of my teaching year and I am quite pleased with the new room and set up...not sure what kind of kids I will get this year but we will focus on the books of the Bible and why the Bible is important. Heading to see Aerosmith this week and I am very excited about seeing them...thanks Cathy!!

Well for now I think it is time for bed...been a long day and Diabetes Association will be here first thing to pick up boxes so I need to get everything ready.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Fiscal Year has now begun!

Today marks the end of holidays and the start of what I lovingly refer to as my fiscal year...I suppose this is the last one as Jordan heads in to his final school year but that is another post.....I was able to go to Cirque de Soliel Kooza last week and it was amazing!! Iona and I had Tapis Rouge tickets...it was sooo much fun that it would take a paragraph to put down all the experiences!! We are SO going to do it again!! After that a week of relaxation in Kamloops with Patti and David...it was a great way to end the summer and I am so glad that I have such wonderful friends that I can take time to enjoy life with.

As I prepare for tomorrow I wonder what new routines I will start, which ones I will continue and what aspects of my life will take a turn and change. For me, fall is much like spring...new beginnings. As usual it will be busy with regular parenting, work, a Monday night study, Gallery 7, Sunday School and with any luck at all a class or two...I am also planning on starting to walk mornings again in order to be able to complete the Sun Run...it is a crazy notion and I wonder what the heck I am thinking but by putting it into print it will be harder to back down. (I hope that 5:30 am will be kind to me) I have also decided that although part of my job is to read, it is time to further expand my reading by engaging in at least one classic every few months, I do not want to limit my reading to the Christian genre which I am immersed in. Now please do not misunderstand, I love my job and the amazing authors and content it allows me to explore however I want to broaden my reading materials to include the vast store of classic literature that we have access to. That said I intend to read the top 100 books of all time simply because I can, thank you Lord that you have allowed me to live in a culture of free will and the right to choose!!

Well it is time to go and pick up Jordan but I wanted to write something...I have another post in mind but it will have to wait until I have done a bit more studying, for now lets just be grateful for the start of fall, the memories of summer and a God who loves us in such an incredible way!!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Best Story

It is amazing to me how quickly the days go by, I so thought I would write twice a week and yet I have so far only managed to think about it twice a week....bear with me as I learn this new habit and start to look at each experience to see if it is blog worthy.

I got a surprise visit from family and friends this weekend and it was great, got much accomplished and laughed...a lot!! While the kids were here, my darlin little Austin grabbed his favorite book (well one of them as he loves to read) and informed me it was story time. First we read The Magic School Bus, when that was done he came (backing up so as to get into a good position on my lap) with The Great Elephant by Niki Ranieri, now this happens to be one of my all time favorites as well, it is an amazing allegory! Although Quinn, a little mouse has spent his whole life hearing about the Great Elephant, he has never seen him. As he leaves home he unfortunately runs into trouble and starts to search for the Great Elephant. In his desperation to find him, Quinn follows what others in the forest tell him....that you need to work to see him...that he is at the end of this path..that he is a large golden statue..it is not until the little mouse is in grave danger and he calls out that the Great Elephant appears. It is a wonderful tale of finding God, beautifully illustrated and grandly told it captures your attention and your heart. Ahh how I love to read my little man stories!

Stories enlarge our world, the expand our limited perspective and help us to grow. They open up new worlds and thought processes...they stretch us. This happens whether you are 3 and sitting in your grandmas lap or whether you are an adult looking for answers and change.

I have started to meet with a few women for a book discussion group the last few weeks, watching what God has been showing us through the stories told in the book are amazing. It seems that hurt, forgiveness and healing are happening...through a story...it expands us and helps us gain a new understanding.

A child learns how to cry out to God in order to find Him, a woman understands the need to forgive so she may heal, we can see the hand of God in our everyday living...because of story. Think then that the Bible is the biggest story of all, a vast land of truth, it is filled with narrative, it gives us all the parts necessary...creation, the fall, redemption and restoration....perhaps it is time we focused on Gods word, spent more time reading the story, learning the connections and saw the whole picture so that we may benefit from Gods prose...from His word that comforts us...from the love He us given us in the form of our Bible....just a thought.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Getting what I deserve??

It has been a couple of weeks since I have curled up with my computer and thought about some journaling moments.....much has gone undocumented and it seems as though much more of my week will have the same fate....hopefully to be forgotten forever. That is not to say that it has all been bad.

Life has been full... full of laughter, full of love, full of mistakes that have snippets of regret.

Some of the laughter was caused by a weekend with my darling Austin...there is nothing like a child to fill your days with funny moments and feelings of intense love. I took him to his first concert which he loved, we went to the park and read MANY different stories. Although he tires me out, he is also a source of extreme joy in my life!! Thank you God for my family, for the joy and love they provide me with.

Oh how I wish there was only good this week but unfortunately that is not the way it happened. I made some mistakes this week that will have consequences, I wonder if I have managed to at least glean some lessons from them. ( I hope so anyway) One of the things that I will be more aware of is that there are many times I should shut my mouth. I need to work on that, I need to be much more discerning on who I trust with certain information and who I pass that info on to. Obviously this has been an issue that has had some ramifications, yet even with the chaos that ensued this week I am reminded that God is good....Thank you Lord that you are is in control. Thank you that when we screw up you do not give us what we deserve, for that I am grateful.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

What is your treasure?

Today has been good...the sun is shining, my car has finally been cleaned, I managed to get 3,012 errands completed (well it felt like that many) and had a good visit with Grandma B. She is an incredible woman of faith which is what started this post percolating.

Jordan is preparing to go to Creation Fest next week which includes the need for passports and travel insurance...getting a diabetic ready for 5 days with a youth group in another country is much more work than just packing a sleeping bag and Bible. It includes doctors notes, extra supplies, special food, emergency kits and a way of keeping insulin cold during the trip as well as making sure the people he is with are prepared and know the signs of diabetic highs and lows....don't get me wrong, it is very doable, Jordan is extremely responsible and I am not complaining it simply requires a bit more planning... (there is a point to this I promise)

That said my mothers heart still worries. I know it is silly as God is in control and He has made Jordan very responsible and hands on where his health is concerned but the mommy in me still has mini moments of silent panic.....when Grandma B & I were talking about it she reminded me that it is those times my job is to pray!! That got my brain thinking in a strange progression about faith & Ezra and how the two were connected. I will try and be concise but, well... no promises.

For the second time this past week I have been reminded of Ezra...one of my favorite books of the Bible for the record. Ezra and his party of priests moved in faith by travelling several hundred miles from Babylon to Jerusalem carrying an awesome treasure without an armed guard. That's right, a huge extremely valuable treasure (Ezra 8), I don't what the modern day equivalent would have been but a small fortune for sure.

Ezra had told the king that Gods hand was on them so he did not want to ask for a guard despite the dangers of taking the sizable treasure through the mountains. Understand that at this time thieves and murders would surely be camped making the passage a dangerous ordeal. Regardless of the danger, they acted with a confidence that was derived from knowing that they were acting in God’s will, and consequently He would provide for their safekeeping. The treasure was delivered to Uriah intact!

The point??? My treasure is my kids therefore are they not also protected by God through faith...if God was concerned enough to protect silver and gold on a mountain trail, is He not then willing to grant the same protection to my babies? Is faith not what is required to dispel worry and fear? Since neither (worry nor fear) are from the Lord but from his enemy, then is God's word not what is needed in order to overcome? Is Gods Word not the sword that defeats the enemy? Are we not fortunate to have His Word in order to provide us with the tools we need to foster and strengthen that faith? Just a thought....

Monday, July 12, 2010

David & Faith....

It has been on my mind lately to spend some time studying the life of David...the subject has come up in books or conversation a lot lately.... now, I learned long ago that when God impresses upon me to spend more time in His word that I had best obey....I often do not know why but the lessons learned in the end are always of tremendous value (ask me about Ezra or Nehemiah sometime).

I am not really sure why I choose to share that with you tonight. Perhaps for some accountability, perhaps so you will have some idea of the background of what is sure to be a couple of future posts.

For now I will just post this verse (yes my beloved friend, this is in answer to your question today) :

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17 (NIV)


It is only by spending time in God's word that we can hear the message that strengthens our faith....Hearing the Word of God = Faith

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Walk not Run!

Summer had finally arrived...I know this because the sun is out and my house is hot...and my need for iced tea is growing!! This is good news to all of us who live in the Fraser Valley and have seen a lot of grey as of late.

Although the past few weeks have been busy I have been able to carve out some time here and there for me...what a change that makes! Having been able to do a bit of reading, clean a few closets (they were the things that nightmares are made of...Narnia was NOT what we found at the back of our wardrobes) and spend a little time with friends has certainly improved my outlook. Also having regained some control at home, I simply feel less stressed. Thank you Lord for that :)

Work is also less stressful....first of course I feel better now that the pneumonia and strep are gone, second is that warehouse sale and inventory is over and thirdly, even though my favorite girl is leaving (thank goodness not for awhile still), I can now gaze upon her little bump through out the day and smile!! Actually now I must wonder who will correct my spelling and grammar next year...hmmm...I may have to email her all my proofing...I digress.

The last couple of weeks a longtime friend and a new friend have been getting together one night a week to do a bit of a book study... Plan B by Pete Wilson. I love this book and am going through it now for the second time (the first I read it quite quickly). This week we looked at the life of David. This is a long story and I do not want to sound like a church service but a bit of background is needed for those who do not know the story well. David was anointed by Samuel at a young age, his best friend was a prince and King Saul took a special interest in him...he always felt God's presence in a special way and his life was set up to become King. Life was good....good until King Saul became jealous and decided to kill him, it was then that life began to seem a bit overwhelming and oppressive so David did what many of us do, he ran! Reasonable yes, after all the king was trying to kill him. Wilson writes this about Davids running, "You see, I believe David is making a huge mistake-the same mistake so many of us have made throughout our lifetimes. He assumes he understands God and His ways. He thinks he knows what God should be doing. And when God doesn't handle things the way he expected, David just gives up".

The point of this story is that eventually David did indeed become King, although David momentarily gave up on God , God did not give up on David.

I am being long winded (sorry) but bear with me another minute or two. Our culture often runs from God...we do it by watching TV, more activities, work ridiculously long hours or indulgence in food, alcohol or drugs....we run. When we are no longer in control of our lives we panic. In our panic we allow lies to overtake us (we each have our own set of lies...you are worthless, you are ugly, you are unlovable, you are ____). Don't give in to the lies and the disappointment, keep on persevering, your miracle, the change you need and have been waiting for is just around the corner.

Remember, run to God not away from him...patience and perseverance...despite what your circumstances tell you, God is there and He loves you! He wants to walk you through the difficult times...walk not run!!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Change is imminent.

Writers block has been visiting my house along with the bronchitis and strep...with nothing but fevers and gross things to talk about so I decided to skip it but here is what has been on my mind this past week.

Life is starting to change in ways that I had not anticipated...well I am not an idiot so I knew they were coming I just wasn't expecting them to all come with in a years time.

The first thing will be a move. I am looking forward to this but it does come with some stress as I have a lot of stuff (OK Cyndy.... maybe it is more than a lot!!) This move will come with mixed feelings...first I am very grateful that God has allowed me to stay in the same neighborhood for the last 20 years...I have been fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful people who have helped to form my children in positive ways and it has been a gift. I have realized lately that although I love this area and am thrilled to have been here, it is time to leave. This street has many memories, good and bad. I will miss it but will look forward to making new memories.

The second thing will be my job. Any of you who know me know that I love what I do. The problem is two fold, one I can no longer survive on what I am making...this sucks but is a reality I need to face, the other is that my partner whom I love (yes Kim I mean you) is going to be leaving soon. I am thrilled for her and her husband but a bit afraid for me....who will take her place? Again if you know me well you know there is some tension at work and although I can handle the level it is at now I am not sure I can handle any more depending on who is chosen to take Kim's place (well no one can take her place..) This realization is a bit scary as it may mean change that I am not ready for.

The third thing is something that I shouldn't be worried about for awhile but I am sick and therefore allowed to wallow a wee bit....it is only one year until Jordan graduates...yes my friends this scares me as it is then that my current job description will change. For the past 14 years I have been a single mom, everything I have done, every decision has been based on what is best for my kids. This role is also coming to an end, I will always be a mom and I NEVER regret the choices I have made over the past years but soon I will be the mom of all adults...much different than toddlers and teenagers. I am not sure what kind of changes this will bring but I do know that parenting adults is different ( I do after all have 2 of them). I know I still have a way to go but it is going to be more change.

So my friends, that is what I have been thinking about...fortunately I know that God has walked me through the first half of this saga I call life and I am positive He will continue to be with me as I make some decisions about the upcoming changes.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

A Year in Siberia??

I have been told...by a good friend...that I have been unhappy the last few months...unhappy usually equates to grumpy so I have decided the only way to handle the situation is to ground myself...I think a year in exile in Siberia should suffice.

Now I just spent a half an hour pouring out my heart and soul (skipping certain things of course) into this blog...it almost made me feel better until I went to proof it and POOF it was gone...kind of ironic considering the content. I guess the bottom line is yes, I have suffered some heavy blows the last few months, most of which I cannot change, they have made me unhappy in a number of areas of my life. Even though there are things I cannot change and do not like I know that God is good and gracious and will eventually work the details.

Since the first 'draft of this post' has left me somewhat drained I will leave it at this. To my friends who are concerned I am not myself.....please pray; to those who feel I have been too hard on them....please forgive me; to those who wonder what is wrong....please allow me the time to process and grieve, I will eventually share it with you.

Moses said to the people "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Exodus 14 : 13-14

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sorry for the wait,,,

It has been a while since posting and for that I apologize. Since this is so new I am not even sure if anyone reads this but now that much of the chaos of the past few weeks is over I will try harder to be more diligent.

There are many things on my mind as of late...emotions of helping to move my beloved friend and mentor into an extended health care facility took its toll, add that to the regular emotions of life and I would have to admit my mood has not been very upbeat. That said I now have a couple of nights sleep in and am feeling much more like myself.

Everyday living can be draining, when we add to that the emotions of impending separation, parenting, finances, conflict or sleep deprivation and we open the door for the enemy to play head games with us....he enjoys being able to throw us curve balls and relishes in our failure to keep God first and foremost. This is something we all know and yet can be so easily overlooked during our times of stress. I have attempted to write a post a couple of times but with my thoughts disjointed and no time to study and straighten them out I opted to not write anything....the problem with this is then there is no authenticity....life is as much about the disjointed and difficult as it is about our triumphs. None of us have it together all the time, we struggle with feelings of inadequacy, hoping and praying for life situations to change or be fixed..sometimes it is simply not in the plan...and we feel discontent because of it. The reality however is that we always have a way out, it just isn`t always as easy as it sounds.

God is our way out of times of discontent...it requires some work, we need to trust Him..know that He is who He says he is...His character and His love do overcome all...it is at times like this that we need to take a deep breath, pray and then let God do what God does....

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Joy or the loss thereof...

This past few weeks has been a whirlwind of activity...a quick trip to Ontario, book tables, speaking for a church group, a Beth Moore conference and then the massive task of the Gallery 7 fund raising Gala. It seems that I have hardly been home...actually I have hardly been home and it has taken a toll on my kitchen, laundry and sleep patterns. After months of planning, the time came and went and it was over, the question that followed was..."How did it go?", "Are you happy with the outcome?" and other such queries....

The problem with this is that as the planner (with help of course), all I could see were the little details that could have gone smoother, the things that were overlooked or forgotten....as I debriefed I had to wonder where the excitement was? I should feel pretty good about pulling off a corporate event with very few problems however the side of me that can not fail, the (semi) perfectionist in me, allowed those doubts to temporarily steal the joy from this otherwise successful event. Thankfully it was temporary, I was able to (after some sleep) look at it objectively and enjoy all that was good about this event and not focus solely on the areas that could use some improvement. I was able to recapture some of the joy!!

That made me wonder how often do we let our emotions or others steal the joy that God intends us to have in our day to day living? How often do we overlook the successes and the victories in favour of the possibility of having done better...silly isn't it that we often allow our joy to be removed so willingly... it is worth thinking about....I pray that this week nothing is able to come between you and the joy God intends to bestow on you.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

One another...

I had the pleasure of having lunch with a valued friend today, as we spent some time talking she said something that was worth looking into...the idea of what God says about "one another". We all know how easy it is to be negative, to talk about others...it comes naturally and often our sense of justice is offended so we vent, well I vent. Got me thinking.... God says to love one another, be compassionate to one anther, to encourage one another....and there you have the idea of 'one another'.

This made me think, how often we were called to treat 'one another' in a specific way? That means it is off to my concordance and other study tools to try and find out... I found way more than I can put in this post..over 100 times the words 'one another' are used together...there may be more depending on the translation you are searching but whatever Bible translation you use, it is alot!!

Here are a few that I found:

Zechariah 7:9- 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
John 13:34-"A new command I give you: Love one another
Romans 12:10-Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Romans 14:13 -Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another
Romans 15:7-Accept one another
Galatians 5:13-... rather, serve one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2-Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32-Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other
Ephesians 5:19-Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Ephesians 5:21-Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-Therefore encourage one another and build each other up
Hebrews 3:13-But encourage one another daily
James 4:11-Brothers, do not slander one another.

This list is by no means extensive yet it certainly must give us cause to think about our daily interactions with others. It is so easy to behave this way with the people we love but what about all the people we have a hard time even liking...how can we do this with those people? I am not sure that I can but when I see how often God has reminded us, I realize I at least have to try a bit harder, pray about it a bit more and possibly, just possibly I can succeed in showing the love God has for me to those around me in a more tangible manner....

One another.....let's spend time this week thinking about how we are instructed to treat one another...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Time Management....

Still wondering if this is a good idea...what is on my mind? Nothing and everything. Life has been very busy the last month, between work, home, Gala planning and a speaking gig there has not been much time for reflection. That said I have still spent some time wondering (ok reflecting) about what life has to offer me...the kids don't need me like they used to so I have decided to keep myself busy. That my friends may have been a stupid idea.

In keeping myself busy I have missed out on spending some quality time with and family friends, my house looks like something straight out of hurricane season and I am tired....the worst of it is that it is my spiritual life that has suffered, I have neglected to spend quality time with God and that is NOT good. We (me) all have great excuses about how our days fill and there is little time left over for reading or our minds are too full for more than a quick prayer...that is a dangerous cycle and affects how well our lives work and how we feel about ourselves and others. That said I think it is time for a bit of renewal...in order to renew I need to have some discipline that keeps me focused on spending more quality time with the God who loves me and wants to make life full...time to stop being a hypocrite....time to put some of the good back into my life so it can be passed on to others.

Now in looking this over I need to clarify that what I have been busy with is all good stuff and I enjoy the variety of things I am involved with but time management is an issue. This week I will need to look at all of my commitments and reschedule them so that God once again comes first. It is something I know I can do and have done in the past but somehow overlooked over the last few months....stupid that we can so easily overlook this simple life strategy.

Over the next few months I intend to spend my morning coffee with God, then we will share a cup at midnight....together will see what a cup of coffee and some time can do to build relationships.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Starting a new hobby??

I have given much thought to whether or not I want to start blogging. This will be my attempt to see if I have anything worth saying and if I can keep it current.

Today I simply say hello to myself while I decide if this is a good plan or not.