Stinky Rotten Fruit

I don't know what happened to summer.  Even though the start to a new school year means an end to summer vacation, I am not nostalgically talking about sweet days gone by today.  I mean, yes, we got off to a good start, and we did make some awesome memories.  I am thankful for the memories.  We were all fired up about less routine, staying up a little later, sleeping in a little longer, and playing outside more.  We dove into beach days, pool days, and a few family trips, but somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn.  We landed ourselves in a huge, ugly rut.  It's embarrassing, but I am willing to own our family's dysfunction junction.  Fun in the sun turned into mad in the pad at our house, if you know what I am saying.  Sweet summertime was more like mean time.  I have been a full-time referee and mediator, and I am exhausted from working overtime.  Instead of soaking up some rays, I am burned out.  Time off from school for the kids has me feeling like I've been run over by a mack truck.  I am sitting here wondering if my kids spent more time in time-out this summer than they actually managed to play outside.  Does anyone out there in blog land know what I am talking about or are we the only ones whose lives frantically turned into a crazy nut farm?  What happened here people?  Somehow the summer wasn't all that it could be.  Why?

Baseball and Winning

Two weeks ago I watched the most heart wrenching baseball game I have ever seen.  It was the first, and last, playoff game of the season for my nine year old son's rec team.  It was a match up between a winning record and a losing record.  Let me just clarify it for you a little further.  My son's team went into that game as THE underdog team in the league, having only won one baseball game all season.  Who am I kidding?  The season was pretty rough.  I didn't think it could get worse (and that's what I get for thinking).  The team was at the very bottom of the standings.  The numbers weren't good.

To tell you the truth, I prayed for those boys and their team before the playoff game.  They needed all the help they could get, and they really needed a boost to their spirits.  Morale was low in the stands and so were our expectations for a win, although we would never let our kids know that.  That being said, would you believe those boys played their hearts out that first night of the playoffs?  Go figure.  They played the best game they played all season.  Their spirits were alive on and off the field, full of hope.  Those kids had a spark in them that night that was beyond our understanding.  

Before we knew it, we were at the bottom of the last inning, and it was  4-3, in our favor.  The other team was up to bat.  They had a kid on first and a kid on second with 2 outs.  Our kids could taste a huge, well-fought victory.  The boy up to bat hit a grounder to second.  Our second baseman caught it and threw it to third.  By a miracle, our third baseman, got the ball, stepped on the bag, and tagged the kid just before his foot was able to slide into third.  It was beautiful.  The ump called the kid out, and our kids went crazy jumping for joy!!  They had just won the ballgame by one run!  As the parents in the bleachers behind the third baseline, we could not believe our eyes.  We erupted in excitement  For a split second, it was awesome!  That was what it felt like to win, FINALLY. 

And then it happened, the beginning of the heart wrenching part to this story.  Our celebration, all few seconds of it, was abruptly cut off by the loud screaming and ranting of the opposing coach who had come out of nowhere to third base to place himself in the faces of the ump and our poor little third baseman.  He and his blood red face were jumping off the ground with anger, for the whole world to see, insisting that our third baseman had only stepped on the bag and had not tagged the kid out.  With all due respect, the timing of our third baseman's tag was crucial, but we saw it with our own eyes, and the ump made the call.  The boy from the other team was out, and our third baseman kept insisting, "But I did tag him.  I did tag him."  In the ump's defense, that other coach was a really scary and disturbing sight for innocent eyes.  I am not sure anyone could have kept me in my seat had my son been the third baseman he was jumping all over.  But, with no way to look at a replay, our stands and coaches insisting the boy was tagged out, and an ump shaking in his boots, the ump reversed his own call.  The other coach had definitely turned his "ugly on", and it changed the course of the ballgame. 

Stunned, we sat ourselves back in the stands, coaches resumed positions, and our kids put their hats on and went back on the field.  Bases were now loaded, and we still had 2 outs.  We finished the last inning with a tie ballgame 4-4 and had to play extra innings until there was a winner.  And the story continues to go further and further downhill from here on out (no pun intended).  

In this league, to rest the kids' arms, pitchers are only allowed to pitch 3 innings per ballgame.  Extra innings meant we had already gone through two of our 3 pitchers, and the last pitcher HAD to finish out the ballgame without a backup.  Well, guess who the lucky kid was?  My son, of course, no pressure!  I was a wreck, and I hoped my son couldn't see my face.  

We ended up playing a seventh and an eighth inning, holding at a 4-4 ballgame until the bottom of the eighth inning.  I am was not exaggerating when I said that other coach had turned the "ugly on" with his little escapade that sent us into the extra innings, and he kept it going for the rest of the ballgame, completely dismantling and unnerving our team and the ump.  Bless their hearts.  My son, who happens to be one of the smallest kids on his team, was forced to pitch through the unrelenting taunts and degrading comments of the other team, a team whose sportsmanship, to no surprise, mirrored the demeanor and character of their coach.  The kids and coaches on our team had done nothing to deserve the treatment they had to play through.  Two more times we thought we had finished the eighth inning with another tie, sure my son had thrown strikes, but the ump called them balls.  The calls just didn't go our way that night.  The opposing team finally scored a run on us, and we lost the ballgame.  Those kids, heads down, took off their hats, lined up, shook hands with the other team, and congratulated them on a good game.  

I have never been prouder of that team or my son.  He is nine, and he played his heart out under extreme pressure, holding his own with grace and integrity way beyond his years.  I have no idea how my son was able to pitch those innings without breaking out in tears for all to see.  I have no idea how my husband and I were able to stay seated and refrain from ripping that other coach a new one (pardon the expression, it's the best I could do and still keep it clean).  That's how bad the unsportsmanlike comments were, to say the least. 

I ran to the dugout and met my son and his teammates, who by this time, all had eyes full of tears.  As parents, we started clapping and telling them what a good game they played, but that did little to comfort those boys.  That ballgame was like the battle between David and Goliath, the giant and the underdog, except the good guys didn't get to win this time.  My heart was broken for those boys, in true Mom fashion, and my husband's heart was too, but he was furious, in true Dad fashion. 

My son was just pleading and crying, "Mom, did you see my last two pitches?  They were strikes.  I know they were.  We should have won.  We should have won.  Those calls were terrible and stupid!"  Thank goodness for two cars that night.  I sent my crazy, mad husband home with the happy, cute two year old, and I hurriedly ushered my two older two sons to the car with me.  I knew we needed to get there and shut the world out.  As soon as we were all in and the doors closed, I answered my son.  "I know you should have won that game, buddy.  You played your heart out.  You played an awesome game," and the waterworks followed.  I just cried with my son.  I didn't know what else to do, and I knew this wasn't something I could fix.  His heart was broken, and that broke mine.  

We did the only thing I knew to do.  We gave each other "a little lovin'" as we like to say, got ourselves together, and then we went to get milkshakes.  I let them order whatever size their little hearts desired.  I couldn't help it, and both boys ordered extra-larges, of course.  With milkshakes in hand bigger than their heads, their smiles bounced back on their faces, and we talked about the game the whole way home.  

The way that other team won the playoff game, that was not how my son really wanted to win.  It truly isn't winning when you lose your dignity in the process.  Their horrible loss wasn't about the ump or the opposing coach, really.  The truth was, that ballgame was a reflection of a hard big-world reality, beyond our understanding.  Good guys get the raw end of the deal sometimes.  Bad things happen to good people.  People make bad choices and mistakes that impact the most innocent and precious of human beings.   All the faith, heart, and effort in the world cannot save us from mistakes, loss, disappointment and struggle.  We don't always get the fairytale out on the baseball field or in our relationships, in our families, in our jobs, in our finances, in our homes, but when we invite God to be a part of our circumstances, there is always hope.  

No matter what happens to us, good or bad, we always have two basic choices.  We can face what is in front of us with God or without Him.  I am so proud of my son for letting God be with him on that baseball field.  

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 

Romans 5:1-5  

Through faith, we know God is making us stronger in character, especially when we struggle with life, and we let God win, regardless of our circumstances, our odds, or the numbers stacked against us.  The real champions that night were my son and his teammates.  They may have lost the game by our limited worldly standards, but they walked away from the field with hearts overflowing, full of God's love, grace, and peace.  That's a win for our souls to celebrate, far bigger than any playoff game. 



A prayer for today-

Dear Lord and Savior,

Please forgive me when I do not let you win in ALL of my life circumstances.  Strengthen my faith in you and give me the courage to face all that is before me with You.  Lord, I pray you will pour your love into my heart through your Holy Spirit and let me know your peace that surpasses all understanding.  Show me Your way.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Love in Christ,

More to Mom's Story

Mom walked into her eight month follow-up with her neurosurgeon a few weeks ago.  He's the guy who removed several cancerous, collapsed, vertebrae from her spine and replaced them with synthetic, sturdy screws and rods to stabilize her back.  Now, go back to last summer, prior to her surgery.  Mom had been walking around for many months with back pain that was getting progressively worse.  It got so severe that she could hardly walk, but she did, inch by painful inch.  You see, worse than the back pain, my mom was hiding a phobic fear of doctors ("white coat" fear doctors call it) from everyone around her, especially those closest to her.  So, she pushed herself to keep going, grabbing on to things as she went, leaning over things for support, hunched over in agony, taking slow, shaky, painful steps that took her breath away and stopped her in her tracks.  Mom was determined to keep her pain a secret.  For a while that wasn't so hard because she lived alone, and my sister and I were five hours away.  Eventually, though, the pain just wasn't manageable anymore.  It kept her from eating, sleeping, and functioning on her own.  She quit showing up in the office.  She didn't visit friends anymore, and she wouldn't answer her phone.  Fear was winning for my mom.

In fact, fear almost took her life. Then, somewhere along the way, Mom started talking to God about her fear and her pain.  Mom was immobilized physically by pain and mentally by her own fear, but God was very much on the move in her life.  My sister and I simultaneously got a feeling that something was wrong, and when we started comparing notes, we just knew we had to do something.  We had to get her to the doctor even if that meant we took her kicking and screaming.  We had no idea Mom was giving her weakness to God, acknowledging that she didn't have the strength or courage to get herself to the doctor.  She asked God to help her.  Meredith (my sister) and I drove late the night of August 13th and showed up at her door.  See, God made our hearts overwhelmingly heavy for Mom.  He was hearing Mom and using us to be His hands.   

This photo was taken by my sister during one of Mom's many hospital stays.

I want to take a minute to be real for you, more transparent.  At this point in Mom's story, things were not neat and pretty for Meredith and me.  We had been praying for Mom.  We urged and pleaded with Mom for a while to go the doctor, not just for her back, but to check on her general health.  She had not been to the doctor in twenty plus years.  The more time that went by, the more defensive, guarded, and angry Mom became toward us and anyone else that was brave enough to discuss her health.  We loved mom.  All of our pleas came from our love for her, so it hurt and was extremely frustrating to watch her avoid taking care of herself.  With faith and prayers, I went to bed many nights scared of the consequences of Mom's choices.  See, Mom lost her own mother to a very aggressive battle with ovarian cancer.  Mom was 40 when she died, and her experiences left her wounded, scared, and determined to avoid facing the same fate.  If Mom ever had cancer, she told me many times, she would rather just go without knowing.  But as mom discovered, cancer is nearly impossible to ignore. 

My Agenda

My Daily Coffee Date

We just got home from a family vacation in Disney World over the kids' Spring break.  We enjoyed Mickey and friends with my husband's family and celebrated my father-in-law's birthday while we were there.  It was a week of nonstop excitement, thrilling rides, and kid friendly entertainment.  We made lots of memories.  I return to reality absolutely exhausted and especially thankful for the uninterrupted time we were able to spend together as a family just having fun.

Did I mention that Disney was nonstop?  That magical place is a very busy hot spot, and it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of getting from here to there.  Then again, that's how most days are around here with a house full of boys (big and small).  So from that standpoint, I guess life at home can be like a day at our favorite amusement park!

For sure, life can take me for a ride.  Before I know it, I have landed in the fast lane, bounced around on bumps in the road, and thrown myself for a loop or two on an unpredictable roller coaster.  All the more reason for me to get my day off to a good start and wake up on the right side of the bed.  I've already mentioned that my morning routine has become a huge part of my everyday faith.  I am very intentional about my coffee date with God first thing each day, PJs and all (see my blog post "We Can't Make Time But We Can Take It").  I spend part of that time reading the Bible.  It's my therapy and life coach.  But even before I do that, I like to read a daily devotional, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace In His Presence, by Sarah Young. 



This book is available at amazon.com, and it's a great way to start the day.

When Mom was first diagnosed with cancer and still in the hospital, a dear childhood friend gave her this book.  Mom, my sister, and I read this book together through some very rough times.  It helped us focus our thoughts on the certainty of God and his love for us instead of the uncertainty, fear, and pain that was all around us.  Even now, this book quiets my analytical, problem solving, list making mind as I face the day ahead and awakens my soul to the peace and joy of being with God.  It is written to help readers experience the quiet, still presence of God. 

"Be still, and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10 

 I don't know about you, but in my rush, rush, rush life, I need some help sitting still and being quiet.  And the Lord knows, I need stillness to really know Him and what it is He is calling me to do each day.  That's why I love this book, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace In His Presence.  It reins me in, helps me let God in, and nurtures a more intimate relationship with Him.  Trust me, I need all the help I can get!


A prayer for today-

Dear Heavenly Father and Comforter,

Thank you for your nurturing presence in my life.  Help me to trust you and experience more and more of the joy and peace that comes from inviting you to be with me in all that I do.  Please, Lord, show me ways to quiet my mind and awaken my soul to you.  Draw me closer to you.  May I feel and know the power of your presence in my life everyday.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Love in Christ,





Book Basics

I mentioned in my last post that I had been hesitant to dive into reading the Bible for fear that I just wouldn't get this very sacred book.  My own excuse, yes, but I had to work through it.  The words are holy.  The words are life changing.   The words are the foundation of the Christian faith.  They are "life to those who find them and health to one's whole body (Proverbs 4:22)."  That's a lot of pressure, you know?  What if this book didn't apply to me because I didn't know how to read it the right way?  I had a mindset that if I never REALLY dove in, at least I couldn't REALLY sink or fail.  Have you ever felt that way about something?

So what did I do?  I managed to find some life preservers along the way, some back up flotation devices, for reading, understanding and applying God's word, and I want to share a few of those with you.  The good news, in addition to the most important Good News that Christ died for us so that we might have eternal life, is that there are tons of useful resources out there to help us not only read the Bible, but nurture and grow our faith.  I will never run out of blog posts!

Today, I am going to focus on the Bible basics.  These things may seem obvious to some of you, but they weren't to me.  They give me a much needed foundation for my reading. These are facts I heard over time, in pieces, but had a hard time organizing in my head.

Bible Books

• 66 books total (Catholic Bibles have a few more)
• 2 Parts:
• Old Testament- The story of God's creation and his loving relationship with his people before the birth of his son, Jesus Christ
• Covers several thousands of years
• Contains scriptures Jesus learned as a child
• 39 books (law, history, poetry/wisdom, & prophecy)

• New Testament- The story of God's love, mercy, and grace following the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.
• Covers about 100 years
• 27 books (gospels, history, letters) 

Simple Summaries

Even with the best of graphic organizers, it can still be a difficult task to keep all the facts straight as I read, especially since the good books do not necessarily go in chronological order.  I need a way to associate the book I am reading with an author, a specific period of time, important biblical events, and memorable scripture.  Know Your Bible by Paul Kent helps keep me straight.  It's simple, to the point, and a real bargain at Amazon.com!

Through God's word we come to know and experience what it means to be...

1. {Part of God's Family}

Jesus tells us,

  "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Luke 8:21 

 

2. {Protected by God's Grace}

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith...Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

 Ephesians 6: 14-17

3. {Transformed By New Life in Christ}

"And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."

  1 Thessalonians 2:13

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 

 1 Peter 1:23. 

I sincerely hope these resources will inspire and encourage you wherever you are in reading the word of God, whether you are a seasoned veteran, unsure and new to the water, or somewhere in between. The Bible is where I find the unconditional comfort of God's truth and love, and the words don't just sit idly on the page. They come alive and go to work in me, and they will do the same for you if they haven't already!

My prayer for today-

Dear Heavenly Counselor and Comforter,

Thank you for revealing yourself to me through your word.  Help me "grow in the grace and knowledge" of you for your glory both now and forever (2 Peter 3:18)!  May this blog reach far and wide, blessing those who read it and beyond.

I pray this prayer in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Amen

Much love in Christ,



*Graphics in this post were created by A Mind Maker Upper from reference material on the website, Bible Simply Explained at www.bible-explained.org

We Can't Make Time But We Can Take It

How many of you have the best of intentions to get things done (and done right) at the start of your day, and then something happens?  Things don't go as planned.  One simple, unexpected thing can send you in a tailspin.  Before you know it, the best of your intentions are thrown right out the window, along with your sanity.  And even though the game changer can be something little, the impact somehow becomes huge for the rest of your day.  Whatever it is, you suddenly feel like your day has gone to a certain bad kind of hand basket, if you know what I mean.  I hate when that happens!!  Does this ever happen to you?

That's exactly what happened to me yesterday.  The plan was toddler takes a nap in his new big boy bed = quiet time for this mom to get a quick shower, fold some laundry, do some blogging, return a few phone calls, and regroup before the big brothers come home from school.  Ambitious for two hours, I know.  Well, my plan was quickly shoved out the window by a toddler who spent nap time wiggling his little diapered caboose out of bed as fast as I could put him in and cover him up.  After what felt like the 100th time of putting him back in the bed, I have to be honest. My precious brown eyed little miracle was testing my patience and messing with my blood pressure.  I followed The Supernanny's bedtime advice with the best of intentions.  You know, I was determined to show him who was boss, my will against his, and I found myself getting more frustrated and agitated by the minute.

The day was downhill from there.  Two hours later I gave up on the toddler sleeping possibility.  If he wasn't going to nap, I'd show him.  So, out of determination to smell better for my husband when he returned home from work and for the safety of my sleep deprived, whiny, door opening toddler, I decided to put up a baby gate at the entrance to his room.  Then I ran to take a shower.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I returned from my shower to find (brace yourself) he had pooped in his diaper, reached in and grabbed a chunk of his own stinky stuff, and smeared it all over the baby gate and adjacent door frame.  As if that wasn't bad enough, he then picked up a bucket full of toys and one by one with his dirty hands, my little stinker (no pun intended), hurled his toys through his open door, over the banister, crashing them into the foyer below.  A second later the big brothers walked through the door ready to do homework and eat a snack.  And did I mention, I needed to start cooking dinner?

So like I was saying, the smallest thing can be a game changer, having huge impact and throwing good intentions out the window.  It might be a broken copy machine or a computer crash, a phone call or irritating conversation, a canceled appointment, a traffic jam, bad weather, one task takes longer than you anticipated.  There's no telling.  Think about it.  On any given day, there are tons of unexpected little somethings hiding and waiting to poo-poo all over your plans, your best intentions, and your clear thinking...leaving you with a messy day.

It's all the possible little somethings and Jesus' words in John 14 that convince me to give the FiRST part of every day to God, and for good reasons.

1.  Giving God the FiRST part of my morning means I am guaranteeing him room in my day. Pastors Greg Surratt and Josh Surratt of Seacoast Church poignantly point out in Make Room: Creating Space for God, "It doesn't matter what we say is important to us if we don't make room for it.  What we make room for is what is really important to us."  God is getting priority when we spend time with him before we do anything else, leaving less room for little somethings to get in the way of our good intentions.  Jesus tells us himself in John 14:6,

"I am the way and the truth and the life."

Who doesn't want "the life" grounded in truth?  Why wouldn't we?  And if I am not spending time with God first, I certainly don't want to take a chance that I am going the wrong way, grounded in lies and death.  Yuck!!



 

2.  Giving God the FiRST part of the day connects us to the daily resource and companion we have in the Holy Spirit.

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14: 16-18)

If we can't see the Holy Spirit, and the world we enter when we leave our homes doesn't always know him, we could possibly go through an entire day, week, month, or year without this perfect, personal GPS system we have in God.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather get my directions FiRST before I get lost, and just maybe I won't make as many wrong turns along the way.


3. Giving God the FiRST part of our day means our hearts are open to hear God's speaking to us, and we can let him work through us.  Then, we are equipped to put our faith into action.  Pastor Greg Surratt puts it this way, "We CAN'T make God move, but we CAN make room for God to move (Make Room: Creating Space for God to Work)." Why is that important, you wonder?

Put yourself in Philip's shoes. Jesus tells him AND you,

“Don’t you know me, Philip [put your name here]  even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?  The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.  Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.  Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:9-12)

Did you hear that?  If we give God room, he is going to show up.  AND Jesus tells us our works will be evidence of God's presence in our lives.  In fact, Jesus says, we can do even greater works through Christ than the ones we know about because he died for us.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss out on that!

Taking time for God FiRST suggests that i am not large and in charge.  For me, that means i start my day by inviting God to have a cup of coffee with me in my pjs before i do anything else.  Apart from my bad morning breath, it also means that even on the messiest of days, i can be thankful that God is working it for good in his purpose perfect plan (Romans 8:28). What does taking time for God FiRST mean for you?  For sure, we will have better days than we could ever have on our own, better weeks, better months, better years, better lives when we do!

A prayer for today-

Heavenly Father,
i thank you for always showing up when i take time to be with you.  i thank you for your purpose perfect plans for my life and all the ways you reveal yourself to me each day.  i pray you will give me the open heart i need at the start of each day to hear your Holy Spirit and do your work in the world.  May i glorify you and bless others in all that i do, recognizing my constant need for you.
In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, I pray,
Amen.

Love and blessings,

PS.  I love hearing your thoughts on what you read and how faith and life are going for you!  Please, please, please feel free to share the blog with others.  I share my story so some good might come out of it!  Thanks so much for reading.  You are the reason I write. :)

Grab a Bible

So, I invited you to come on this faith journey with me, finding ways to grow closer to God, making more room for him to work in my life, and yours too.  Lets just cut right to the chase today and grab a Bible. After all, that is the source of all we know about God's creation and the history of Christianity.

These are the Bible choices I rounded up in my own house.  We have a few other children's Bible choices too, but we'll save that for another blog.  What do you end up with when you reach for a Bible?

These are the Bibles that were given to my husband and me growing up.  Anytime I wanted to do a little reading, I would just grab the Bible my church gave me on the day I finished confirmation (The Living Bible). My husband's Bible was the black King James Version you see pictured.  He would start with his, try to read it, and then head for my high school youth Bible you see in green.  As silly and simple as it sounds, it never occurred to me that I could and should be more intentional about my Bible choice.   While these Bibles are definitely sentimental to us, they are not necessarily the most readable and workable for us.

If we are going to make room for God, learning and growing together, then we need to really study the Bible we choose to read.  I want to work to make the words come to life.  We have to be able to listen to the stories and words of God before Christ and from centuries ago and apply them to 2013. The Bible's words might be ancient, but they are applicable, real, necessary, and sacred today in our own life stories.

There are lots of different versions of the Bible, coloring the way we read the words.  The core meaning of the words remains constant, but the same verse can speak to us very differently depending on the translation we are reading. It comes down to personal preference, and I encourage you to figure out what version of the Bible speaks to you, all sentimentality aside.

Bible Gateway (www.biblegateway.com) is a great free Bible resource for Bible research AND reading.  I use it all the time and will probably refer to it again and again. They also have an app if you have a tablet or smart phone.  There are over 40 English Bible translations listed on the website.  Pick a favorite chapter or verse like Psalm 139 and try the different translations on for size. Which one speaks to you?  

My favorite for daily reading and study is the New International Version. Once I figured this out, I purchased a copy that I felt I could highlight, make notes in, and take with me wherever I go. Of course there are lots of choices out there, even free ones, but I decided on this electronic version that I could put on my iPad and Kindle. There are hard copies available too. 



I found this one at Amazon.com.

Hopefully, this post helps you find a Bible that speaks to you and inspires you.  Time is the next issue.  Look for more details on that soon.  I can't wait to  dive into reading about all God's good works.  Psalm 139: 13-14 reminds us that WE are a part of his good works.  WE are his masterpieces, all the more reason to read.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Please don't forget to sign up to follow A Mind Maker Upper, and invite friends to join us as we go along. I always love hearing from you if you feel like leaving a comment! 

My prayer for you today-

Mighty God,

Thank you for this blog and all of its readers.  Thank you for for all of your wonderful works and the ways in which you speak to our hearts.  Lord, please guide us as we become intentional about reading and learning about you, your son Jesus, and your stories of saving grace in the Holy Bible.  Help us to discern your will for us, and may your word transform our lives and become an active part of a stronger everyday faith.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Blessings,



Continuing the Story

When my family was faced with the harsh and very sudden reality that my mom was living with stage IV breast cancer seven months ago, we had no idea what that meant.  I think I can speak for all of us when I say that it was like we were blind folded, bound together, and thrown over a deep dark cliff, only to find out jumping didn't mean the end was near.  Instead we landed in a shadowy, uncertain, unknown, steep valley with a sharp, jagged, and impatient learning curve.  Although we were all hoping to be air lifted back to the safety net we knew before Mom got sick, we quickly realized that the only thing we could do was fall to our knees and start rock climbing together to higher ground.  And that's what we did, inch by inch, sometimes just to be run over by an avalanche that made us feel like we were hitting bottom again and again, more wounded than before with each backwards fall.  Little did we know, each fall was making us stronger and stronger even though it didn't appear we were gaining much ground.


Maybe some of you can relate.  Maybe it's some devastating life altering news.  Maybe it's a few bad decisions, and now there are serious consequences to face.  Maybe it's a soul eating secret.  Maybe it's debilitating worry, anxiety, or fear.  Maybe it's a marriage gone bad or a serious illness.  Maybe the odds aren't good. Maybe it's a deep wound or a strong need to be in control.  Whatever the struggle, maybe some of you have been there with us, forcefully pushed over a similar cliff, or maybe you jumped over the cliff yourself.

That's how we felt, and yet today I can stand tall and share The Good News.  Each one of us tells our story a little differently, but we all agree that our story is one of our biggest blessings.  Yes, I said blessings.  Going over that cliff and facing Mom's cancer as a family has been one of our biggest and unexpected blessings.

Please don't get me wrong.  It has been one of the hardest things our family has ever been through.  I would not wish cancer on anyone.  Cancer hurts, and it takes down good people with a lot of heart and life in them.  We hear the word "cancer," and we pray that's not what the biopsy shows.  But, when cancer smacks you in the face, there's a bigger story to tell.  For those of you who have followed our story, you know that ours has been dramatic and full of surprises.  The day we discovered mom had been living with breast cancer for years and did not tell anyone, well, that was the first in a series of many tough, painful days.  (For the full story, please feel free to visit Mom's CaringBridge site under Patty Bridges.)

The bigger picture to our story has been about letting go of the misconception that being strong and successful in life means becoming independent, self-sufficient beings who can control our own outcomes, if only we work hard "enough" at it and do "enough" good deeds in the world.  Our story has also been about digging deep to acknowledge and forgive our mistakes, recognizing that we all make them.  Our story has been about finding joy and love in the things that really matter and freeing ourselves from the things that don't.  Easier said than done for sure.  Without going into the details, watching someone you love suffer so much is the hardest part of cancer.  I have already seen and done things I never wanted to see and do.  Yet, I am thankful for all the blessings that have come from holding mom's hand as she learns to live with this terrible disease.

I didn't know life could hurt this much and still be so healing at the same time.  That sounds like an oxymoron at first, but it's not. It's God's word coming to life, y'all!  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will set your paths straight."  Mom's cancer completely stopped me in my tracks.  I don't know about you, but my natural inclination when problems arise is to pray a few prayers and work as hard as I can to keep going.  I try to organize the issues, call on the right resources, and act on the right series of steps to fix things.  In turn, I can usually get the situation under control.   Mom's cancer blew my usual action plan to smithereens.  It was way too big, completely beyond my understanding, and very unknown.  The only thing I had control over was my relationship with God, so I clung to it everyday, all day.  I've never prayed so much in all my life.  It hasn't been a neat or pretty process, and it sure hasn't been a quick fix either.  But the second I accepted the fact that being strong meant being totally dependent on God, I was able to experience miracles in me and in those around me.  Admitting ALL of my weakness and making room for God to just come in and take over EVERYTHING, gives God bigger space to do HUGE things, showcasing all His power and glory.

The key to my story was not the outcome of the situation but acknowleging that I had no idea what was best for me.  I knew what I thought I wanted, a perfectly healthy mom, but God wanted so much more for me and my family than I could imagine for myself.  Today, my mom is still living with stage IV breast cancer, and there were times my sister and I wondered if she would make it to Christmas.  Sometimes I wondered if we would make it too.  But you know what?  Mom not only celebrated Christmas with us this year, she is working, cooking, enjoying her Duke sports, laughing with friends again, and taking her grandchildren for ice cream.  She's doing the things doctors told us she might not ever do again.  The power of prayer is amazing.   Family, friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues, co-workers, doctors, nurses, and personal cheerleaders are all evidence of God's grace.  These are miracles for this century, y'all, and I have a front row seat.

My experiences have inspired a lot of thinking.  They definitely changed me.  Instead of destroying me and my family, they make me want to love harder, laugh more, pray without holding back and be a person that does not wait for dire circumstances to seek God in everything I do.   Maybe some of you can relate to what I'm saying.  It wasn't that I didn't have faith before.  It wasn't that I didn't have a relationship with God and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  It wasn't even that I didn't go to church and try some Bible studies and mission opportunities once in a while.  It was that in everyday life, I didn't do a good job integrating my faith into everyday stuff.  And it wasn't because I didn't want to.  My intentions were good.

In our culture, it's way too easy to become lost, distracted and so busy that we either don't take time for God, we don't think we have the time, or we don't think we need Him until we find ourselves in a desperate situation.  For me, as a mom of 3 young boys, even when I make the time, the logistics of physically going somewhere on a weekly basis to spend time in fellowship with God is very difficult.  Babysitters cost money, there's homework to do, someone turns up sick with the latest cold or virus, my husband is out of town, timing conflicts with nap time, we oversleep, and the list goes on.  You might have other things on your own list.  Without realizing it, faith often gets compartmentalized to words without application, our "church friends", Sundays, special occasions, or our crisis moments.  Look again with me though, "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL your ways submit to him and he will set your paths straight."  What would happen if we did trust God with ALL our ways, giving HIM more room and time to do extraordinary things in every aspect of our daily lives?  If God can work through me in such a life changing situation as Mom's journey with cancer, how much more can he do if I make room for him in the ordinary, nooks and crannies of everyday moments?

I could work on growing with God privately in the safety net of my own quiet time.  That sure sounds better than what I'm about to do, but I feel like God is calling me to keep sharing my story.  I am not going to lie, this is a scary leap of faith for an extremely private person who loves her alone time.  I am a far cry from a Bible expert, and I make tons of mistakes on any given day.  I'm just a normal imperfect person, a daughter, a wife, a mom, a friend, a neighbor, a woman on a mission to figure out ways to make more room for God in my life.

So I want to invite you to come along on your own time and in your own space.  I am talking about sharing a God-centered faith grounded in grace and the life and death of Jesus Christ.  I am talking about living for a God that is strong, purpose-perfect, not picture-perfect, loving, honest, candid, transforming, necessary.  I am talking about a God that meets you wherever you are in your faith journey, accepting, patient, forgiving, unconditional, timeless, all knowing and all powerful. 

Let's start growing in our faith together by going straight to the source.  Grab a Bible (I'll help with that in another post), and let's see what God's word is telling us each day.  Sign-up to follow the blog and invite others to join us.  Let's put our faith to work and see what God has in store for us when we are willing to grow closer to Him.  Stay tuned for more details in blogs to follow very soon.  

God always has a bigger story to tell...

 My prayer for all you-

Heavenly Father,

I thank you for each person that reads this blog.  I thank you for each of our lives and the stories you are telling through us of your transforming love and grace.  As I share my story, I pray it will help others find new and exciting ways to get closer  to you.  We know that with Christ, we are able to do "immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine" for Your glory, Lord.

I pray this prayer in the name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen

May the Lord bless you and your families, friends,

To read more posts on Mom's story, use the links below:

• Redefining Extraordinary
• Getting My Head In the Game
• More to Mom's Story
• What a Difference a Year Makes
• Who's Your Daddy, Cancer?
• Words Sweet to the Soul...

Getting my Head in the Game

Mom's friends surprised her with an indoor tailgate party....special ladies!

 My nature, sometimes to a fault, is to be an extremely guarded and private person, but I feel like I should share some of the things I am going through lately in hopes that maybe some of what I am experiencing may help someone else. 

In keeping my posts real and honest, I have to admit to you that I am having a difficult time lately focusing on what is right in front of me.  I feel like I am living separate lives, and I am not transitioning well at all from one to the other.  When I am in one place, my brain is still in the other and vice versa.  The result is just a big mess and a lot of worry.  And what good does worry do?  No good.  It certainly cannot fix anything.

I am realizing the problem with letting my mind wander to other places rather than staying right where I am in the moment is that I miss the extraordinary things happening right in front of me.  I say all the time that my faith gets me through life.  And while that is absolutely true, it's hard sometimes to know how to do that.  

It's easy to get lost when we are caught up in the emotion and logistics of our highest of life's highs, our most boring of life's plateaus, or our lowest of life's lows.  So, what does having faith really mean?  How do you live a life of faith?  How do you call on your faith and lean on it when you need it most?

What I am talking about is a loaded question that I ask myself all the time.  I wonder if I am doing things right for the God I love so much.  

As I was driving home from taking care of my mom last week, I realized that I was spending so much time worrying about what was going to happen next and what I needed to do next to take care of things here and there that I was completely overlooking all the ways God is trying to take care of me, and they are RIGHT in front of me, no matter where I am or what time of day it is. 

I have to remind myself that faith is letting go and letting God meet my needs in the moment, not just sometimes, but in every moment of every single day.  

Faith, however, is NOT believing and hoping that God is going to do what I want Him to do.

In fact, what I want may be completely wrong for me, and I have to face those facts.  Faith is loving God and trusting His path for me enough to put His direction ahead of my own best thought out plans.  And I know I fall short of doing that more often than not.  The hardest thing about being a Christian and being faithful, at least for me, is that despite my best intentions and efforts, I am selfish, and I like to think that I can somehow control my circumstances and help them turn out the way I think is best. 

Thank goodness God is smarter and much more powerful than me because I do not know what I am doing.  If it were up to me to fix things, who knows how things would end up, and I'd kill myself getting there. 

If faith means I have to trust God and His path for me, then I have to talk to God in prayer about EVERYTHING.  

At this point, some might wonder how I know I am not talking to air, especially considering all my family is going through right now.  My answer is, give it an honest try for yourself.  I promise that if you make the effort to talk to God and ask him to help you, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.  

You will feel His presence and peace when you look for it.  That's how good things happen, even in the worst of circumstances.  God will wrap me (and you) in His arms if we look for Him in everything that is around us.  

As Michael Hobbs puts it in his daily devotional A Servant's Song, 

"There is no problem for which God does not have an answer! The secret is to let God give us His answer, not insist that He accept ours."
 
So, as much as I am heartbroken by what is going on in my family right now, I know God is using this brokenness.  He is the ultimate Healer.  I have to trust that what is in front of me each step along the way is orchestrated by God to turn the bad into good.  If I blink, I might miss the hands or face of Christ at work in my life, and I know I don't want to miss something that extraordinary!

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  -Romans 10:13

*That picture at the top of this page is one example of the many ways God is reaching out to me when I needed reassurance right now.  How is God reaching out to you?

To read more posts on Mom's story, use the links below:

• Redefining Extraordinary
• Continuing the Story
• More to Mom's Story
• What a Difference a Year Makes
• Who's Your Daddy, Cancer?
• Words Sweet to the Soul...