That's Onomatopoeia: POW, BOOM, BAM

My BFF from Tulsa came to see me on Thursday. We make every moment count when we’re together. We call ourselves “Ethel and Lucy” because we can sure have some hilarious (without even trying) times. We were in that mode at Hobby Lobby and then yesterday, just before she headed on her way to her destination, she thought she’d help me by tossing my newspaper to my porch, but her toss was less than exact. She threw it into a huge plant pot that was filled with water. LOL! Par for our course! But the best part of our friendship that truly makes us besties is our prayer times together. You know your friend is a BFF if they care enough about you to pray with and for you. That’s why we’re BFFs because we know enough about each other that we know the best of us is the Jesus in us…..and that’s what He would do if He had stopped by to see me and when He shows up, BOOM! That’s the word used for an explosion. And I like to think that it’s ZAPPING, SPLATTING, and SMASHING the enemy.

Sheila said, “Donna, I hear onomatopoeia coming from you!” She said that as I was praying I was OOHING and AWING. Onomatopoeia is the sound that a word makes and mimics the sound it describes. So when we say an onomatopoeic word, it sounds like the word we’re referring to. For example: “The CLANGING pots and pots woke the baby.” “The bacon SIZZLED in the pan.” “The race car driver REVVED the engine.” “She POPPED the balloon.” “The enemy CACKLES, GROWLS, and HISSES!” Say those words and you’ll actually hear the sounds of the object it is referring to.

So when Sheila said I was making the sound of OOH, AW and I later thought that I desire that my life be “onomatopoeia” – that my life has sound, expression, so that when others hear “Donna”, they are hearing the sound of joy, excitement, wonder, lightheartedness, life, liberated, cheer.”

I really want that. How about you? Don’t we want to be the most incredible version of ourselves throughout our lives? Don’t we want to have achieved our fullest potential and lived a life of relentless pursuit of God and His character? I know for a fact that I want to live my life in technicolor – not black and white. After all, God could have made all of His creation in black and white, but He said “Nah! I can do better than that!” Don’t you know that sound must have been a part of the creation process? BOOM – the skies were made. POW – the stars and the moon and sun brought light to the skies. KAPOW – trees, and vegetation appeared. SWISH – the waters flowed. CHIRP, BUZZ, MOO, NEIGH – and God created the animals.

I want to live my life with onomatopoeic expressions that say “I’m here, on purpose, to be and do and live and declare God lives in me big time, so this CLANGING and BUZZING and ROARING that comes from me is full of life, full of expression, full of determination to live a reckless abandoned life for God. I want my gravestone to say “SHE LIVED”! I want to leave my mark and my sound here. How about you?

Life Lessons Can Be Learned From Bocce

On April 14th, I celebrated living here in Frisco for one year. I can hardly believe it’s already been a year and I’ve grown to love my community. I’m so busy with my church and ministry activities, my traveling and my children and grandchildren that I haven’t met that many people here. That’s changing as I joined yet another really enjoyable team sport, Bocce. It's a sport played between two teams with from 1 to 4 players on each team. A set of bocce balls is composed of 8 large bocce balls (4 of one color and 4 of another color) and one smaller ball called the ”pallino” (Italian word for 'cue ball'). One point is given for each bocce ball that is closer to the pallino than the opposing team’s bocce balls. While bocce can be played on lawns, we have 12 courts here at Frisco Lakes.

Throwing balls toward a target is the oldest game known to mankind. As early as 5000 B.C. the Egyptians played a form of bocce with polished rocks. From Egypt, the game made its way to Greece around 800 B.C. The Romans learned the game from the Greeks, and then introduced it throughout the empire. From the early Greek physician Hippocrates to the Italian Renaissance man Galileo, the early participants of Bocce noted that the game’s athleticism and spirit of competition rejuvenates the body. Thanks to many Italian immigrants at the turn of the century, Bocce has flourished in the U.S. -- now more than 25 million Bocce enthusiasts here. Next to Soccer and Golf, Bocce is the third most participated sport in the world and is considered the oldest known sport in world history. So, you’re welcome – now you know about Bocce.

This photo is of my league team “The Lady Rollers” and we are all about friendship, celebrating each other – win or lose (like yesterday’s game when we cheered for our opposing team when they won the match as it was the birthday of one of their players. The score was tied -- 1 game to 1 game and the 3rd game was neck and neck. The birthday girl’s team, the Bocce Angels, won. If we're going to lose, it's worth it to help make someone's birthday extra special.

I've learned some valuable lessons from the game:
1) Never give up. We’ve been down and it looked like a shoo-in for the other team to win, and lo and behold we would win because all four of our balls were the closest to the pallino and we won the game. We check each other, if at any point, we start speaking negatively about our playing, because – whiners never win, and winners who think like winners, never lose -- well sometime that do, but not because they were whiners.

2) Never say “SORRY”! I love that about the game. We’re all doing our best and if we make an inadvertent mistake, you don’t say “SORRY”. And, if you do, you'll quickly be corrected. The definition of SORRY is feeling distress, feeling upset, downcast, in a poor or pitiful state or condition and we are none of those. Yesterday, we said, “Why say “sorry” – it’s just a game and in the light of eternity, does it really matter? We hold our heads high and think "I'll do better next time!"

3) Cheer and congratulate when someone does well – even if it’s an opposing team member. I love it when I make a really good play to save the game and those gals make me feel like a rock star – rather, a bocce star.

4) Those who are the best…..mentor those of us who are still learning. And they do it with such a sense of TLC. I’m already mentoring the new gals because, after all, I’m a veteran now – having played last year and now this year.

5) No name calling or trash talk allowed. I know that’s common in many sports, but I love the genuine sportsmanship and comradery in this game. Even if we call ourselves names or trash talk ourselves because of a dumb error, others are quick to steer us the other direction.

6) Making friends – Bocce is a great social sport and it gives us a chance to make new friends or bond more closely with old ones. It doesn’t take too much motivation for us to want to play, but just in case we were in a little lazy mode, our friends motivate us to “get our game on”. And that we do.

6) And, here is the best part -- bocce has great health benefits:
-- It helps lower our blood pressure -- our bodies get rejuvenated and our heart gets strengthened
-- It improves balance -- navigating the bocce balls down a court provides helps with our balance.

As I’ve said many times before, I don’t plan on giving up until I’m taken up…..and if that day comes while I’m playing bocce, I just hope and pray my roll was the winning roll that rolls me straight on through the pearly gates! In the meantime, how about a game of BOCCE?!!

Hebrews 12:11-13 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

More Abundant Life

Day 46 of Photo Inspirations -- "More Abundant Life"
What could be more therapeutic for a widow -- whose husband is in heaven and her kids are in Washington and Texas -- than celebrating Valentine's with really fun kids -- spreading the love around!?  

My godson and his three siblings, all have birthdays during the month of February -- so yesterday -- Valentine's Day -- I threw a birthday/Valentine's party for them at my clubhouse. After pizza and ice cream cake, we partied!   I loved having this time with them -- seeing them having so much fun playing pickleball, golfing on the putting green, playing shuffleboard, running on the treadmill.....and even wading in the freezing cold pool.  They brought such joy to me on this "V" day when I could have been in the mulligrubs and playing the "wallering in self pity" games.  I could have been singing "All by myself....don't wanna' be all by myself....anymore!"

I've learned the best medicine for the doldrums....is to dole out cheer, turn inward thoughts to outward joy, turn garments of heaviness to garments of praise and thanksgiving!  God has given me so many resources for spending my days in power rather than self-pity.  And, the best gift we can give back to God is appreciating the abundant life He has given us.   John 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."   "More abundantly" means to have a superabundance of something.   "Abundant life" refers to life in its abounding fullness of joy and strength for mind, body, and soul.   "Abundant life" is a complete opposite of lack, emptiness, and dissatisfaction.

The next time it seems the best thing to do for dealing with sadness, misery, discomfort, loneliness, and pity.....is to pull the covers up over your head and just hang out there....totally reject those thoughts and put on your loud-colored royal jester's hat, and throw a party -- be the entertainment! Celebrate the abundant life God has given you -- that's what I did yesterday -- and it was a glorious day of love, life and laughter!

Be of Good CHEER!

I love the story our good friend, Zig Ziglar, told about the businessman who got a ticket for driving too fast on the way to work, who got to his office and yelled at his assistant, and then she yelled at the receptionist, who came home and yelled at her son, who kicked the poor cat. That little story describes how "our presence" -- good or bad -- can affect the atmosphere in our world.

Did you know that we can operate in God-given ability to bring heaven to earth and create environments of love, hope, faith, and good CHEER in every facet of our lives? It's our choice whether we bring anxiety or peace, doubt or optimism, anger or love into our world. Our kitchens, our workplaces, and even our cars can become "sanctuaries" -- safe havens and stability -- even in the midst of the bustle of activity....and life. They can be places were love is lived and where people sense God's peace and acceptance -- just because of the atmosphere we create.

Husbands and Wives, Dads and Moms, Granddads and Grandmoms -- we ought to be the family CHEER Leaders. And here's my suggestion for a family cheer. Get them up in the morning and say, "All right family. Let's all begin our cheer for the day. Jesus said be of good CHEER (Matt. 14:27), so here's our good CHEER. "WE ARE HAPPY. WE ARE BLESSED. WE ARE WINNERS. YES, YES, YES!! Two bits! Four bits! Six bits! A dollar! All for Jesus.....stand up and holler!!"

Okay....that's dorky, but seriously -- isn't dorky better than gloomy, cranky, angry and dreary? Our joy-filled, blessed, and grateful attitude will change our world and our calm, peaceful, and loving presence, that we create, will be infectious to our world. Let’s spread THAT presence today, and be of good CHEER!