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Archive for February, 2009

Are your dreams and goals big enough to get your butt out of bed?

Posted in Dreams and Goals on February 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The above question was posed this weekend by a basketball coach that is helping our daughter and some other girls improve their basketball skills.  Our family is a ‘sports’ family. Sports is the avenue the Lord has used in our lives to develop character. The visiting coach said some very interesting things that apply to the game of life and not just basketball. The coach has me thinking about areas of my own life that I need to look at more closely. Here are a few of the things he said…

  • Talent and ability are given at birth, but skill is not given–it has to be earned, learned and worked on.
  • Goal can not be ‘to be perfect’–only God is perfect–but goal is to improve
  • Are you driven to improve?
  • You can control…

                      …How hard you work

                      …How long you work

                      …Your attitude about work

                      …Your decisions about your work

                      …Who you will listen to?

The coach was saying how everyone wants to play the game but few want to do what it takes to develop skill off the court to make us better players. One example is that people will show up to church on Wednesday night or Sunday morning to play the game of ‘church’ but few will do what it takes to develop our relationship with the Lord or one another.

Back to the question at hand…are your dreams and goals big enough to get your butt out of bed? Are your dreams and goals big enough for you to do ‘whatever it takes’ to see those dreams and goals fulfilled? I am currently working as a teacher assistant with exceptional children–I feed, diaper, lift, teach ABC’s, math, get hit, pinched and slobbered on. I wouldn’t say it is my dream job–definitely not my dream pay:)…but there is something precious about working with ‘the least of these’ in our society. I am learning a lot about our society and about myself and coworkers. I am stretched daily in my attitudes…but that’s not my point–I am working and ‘doing whatever it takes’ to help my husband, kids and yes, myself, realize our dreams and goals. Without my paycheck we could not do some of the things we dream about as a family.

We could not have our non-profit ministry Living Hope without my help in the work place. There would be no sporting events, food, trips, vacations, etc. I am willing to work to help make up the extra that the ministry isn’t able to bring in right now. I would love to be able stay at home and work alongside my husband in ministry on a daily basis, even though I still do this in a limited capacity, I am not able to do that right now. The reality is that I will be working for the next 10-15 years outside the home and ministry, unless we are given a large sum of money, to help provide for our family.

It is not ‘just a paycheck’ to me though, it is working hard to see dreams and goals fulfilled in my husband and children’s lives. I am being stretched, developing my skills for life, and doing whatever it takes to get my butt out of bed for dreams to be fulfilled. I don’t want to wait for someone else to ‘do’ something to make it happen, no more excuses…God has given me my talent and ability–I’m ready to do the work needed to see dreams fulfilled.

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Life Comes At You Fast

Posted in Uncategorized on February 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I have been thinking about the ‘suddenlies’ of life lately. Several events in the past few months have gotten me thinking about the things we have no control over. First, a friend of my husbands was murdered. It was an awful act of violence in our small town of Boone. John was one of the ministers that help with the funeral. What do you say to a wife, children, parents and siblings whose loved one is so violently whisked away from them? Second, this past weekend, one of John’s friends he grew up with in church and school died in his sleep. Both of these situations hit so close to home. Neither was planned for or could have been prevented.

I’ve been asking the Lord how I can prepare for the ‘suddenlies’ of life. One of my personal ‘suddenlies’ came in 1994. John was losing his job, our rent was going up on the house we were living in, and I found out I was pregnant with my third child in 3 years. These all happened within a 1-2 month period and this after I had already broken a vertebrae in my back at the beginning of the year and had bells palsy. What the heck was going on? Overwhelmed?–just a little. But the real ‘suddenly’ came when I went to a routine pre-natal Dr. appointment at the end of October of that year and they could find no heart beat. My precious James had died at 18 weeks gestation. The feelings of devastation, failure, grief, and why were enough to crush me. Hadn’t I been through enough this year? What was the point? Why do people say such stupid things to people in grief?

Looking back I realized some very important life lessons were learned that year. I had to grow up in some areas that I was very immature. I realized I could get through some very tough things and not be bitter. I realized I had a reservoir of my Heavenly Fathers truth, grace, love and mercy buried inside of me that I didn’t know existed. It took some adverse circumstances to allow them come out but they were there. The one truth I have held onto from that time is that God is in control. I know that seems glib. but it is a truth that rooted even deeper into my heart. Good or seemingly bad, God is the giver and taker of life, He alone knows what is happening and going to happen. He has a game plan for my life and those around me. I also realized there are not always satisfactory answers to every question in life. However, this has become one of my greatest joys in life–the secret things of God–there are just going to be some things in this life that we will never understand or comprehend. I have had other ‘suddenlies’ in life since 1994. I am thankful God prepared my heart as much as possible to help me through those tough times. I am still working through some of those, but I know God has a plan.

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What brings healing?

Posted in Healing on February 14, 2009| 1 Comment »

I am always surprised by the means in which the Lord uses to bring healing to my heart. I’ve usually envisioned that “anointed” person of the hour laying hands on me and ‘pow’ it’s done–you know the Jericho wall experience when all wounds, inhibitions, etc. come tumbling down? There have been no ‘walls a-tumbling’ recently but more of a slow melting. A simple thing like Facebook has helped me reconnect with my past life of growing up in Taiwan. At times my life in Taiwan seems like it was a dream from another world experience. I went for years rejecting, not consciously, my relationships and past just because it was too hard to explain or make relevent to the day and times I lived in the present. I didn’t see it as a rich resource but  a painful ‘what the heck do I do with this’ part of my life? Now, as friends are posting pictures and going down memory lane , I find myself treasuring and wanting to gleam everthing possible from the people I grew up with and knew while in Taiwan. What a treasure chest the Lord has blessed me with! I know this will eventually flow into the other areas of my life. Hopefully there will be more to come…

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