No Place I Would Rather Be

I’m here in my sweet spot – with my two youngest grandsons while their dad and mom are away for a few days. The oldest here -- the handsome dude -- Monday chapel requires ties and jackets. Be still my heart! The youngest is home schooled so I get to step up and be his mama’s eyes and ears. I love it. I actually learn right along with him. I was never a lover of history but with this guy, I can get quite excited about how far we’ve come AND how far we still have to go!

As most know, I’m a daily blogger – so I have to find my quiet spots when I can to wrap my mind around what God would have me say for the next day. Quite often, it’s in those “hiding times” to be with God, my sweet little man interrupts my train of thought to ask me to come watch him climb (seen here – he can’t seem to help himself), or to help him clean out the chicken coop, or feed the other animals, or to watch him play a video game.

To be perfectly honest, sometimes, instead of being glad he popped into my quiet zone, I get a tad annoyed my time with God was interrupted. Then, as he pulls me away, my Heavenly Father whispers in my “spiritual” ears and reminds me “My dear daughter, this is not an interruption, but an illustration of My love, care and affection for you.”

Peace, joy, confidence, hope, faith and love all at once erupt in my heart, moving me closer to Christ. My Heavenly Father illustrated through an interruption what I was seeking all along: His loving presence. And along with it, came this blog.

Our lives are full of interruptions, from a phone call from a needy neighbor, bottle-necked traffice, a sick child, a flat tire, or an illness. These all look, sound and feel like interruptions, but with eyes of faith we have the ability to look beyond life’s interruptions and instead see illustrations of God’s love.

Interruptions can be appointments for compassion. Life may feel unfair, but in our everyday routine, we can recognize the Lord in the little things and love like Jesus. Interruptions represent people to love and be loved! Loving people is the business of Jesus’ followers. It may be a person in our immediate presence, or it could be someone in our peripheral vision, such as a restaurant server who needs to be included in our mealtime prayer. A doctor or nurse who cares for us, a loved one who needs to be encouraged, or a critic who doesn’t have the full story — they too need the gifts of our patience and grace.

Guess what I’m doing – I’m getting us ready for the holidays that are fast approaching. We’ll have many opportunities to look for illustrations of God’s hand in our work, our families and especially during the holidays. Maybe God's intent with interruptions ARE to slow us down, so we can better focus on receiving and giving God's love.

Living Life in a Glass House

Being a blogger is a joy for me. I expose myself as though I were living in a glass house. It's on purpose. Being open to sharing my mistakes, do-overs, and wins is to give you hope and if you can learn from me, maybe you'll be spared from having to go around the same mountains that I did. My point is to share faith and how to stay optimistic in such a negative world.

I want my passion for God to get stronger and my light to burn brighter, and a sweet way of doing that is to refresh and recharge at a daily retreat (a place of refuge) with our CEO Who has an “open door” policy. He is never too busy for us to come into His presence. It's an intimate, altogether personal time with Him. I assure you that intimate place of relationship -- removes doubt, worry, concern, and fear consciousness and replaces it with "Savior" consciousness.

Living in a glass house opens us up to vulnerability, because we all know there are times when the journey gets rocky and uncomfortable. It’s okay…..because the rocks make us appreciate the flat terrain more; the uphill climbs make us appreciate the downhill sprints. The times of despair cause us to lean into God’s love even more. I want my glass house to be a beacon of light for those who can follow in my footsteps as I follow my Lord’s footsteps. You can be assured, wherever this walk takes me today – you’ll hear about it tomorrow because it always comes with a lesson learned and a lesson to share. You’ll know all about it, because “living in a glass house” is describing my relationship with Christ. He comforts me when I cry. He directs me, teaches me, reproves me, guides me and loves me.

Here's the thing -- God loves me AND you. He understands our desires, motives, and thoughts. Nothing about you and me escapes His notice. And, for sure, I don’t really want to live in a literal glass house. But, there’s one thing for sure, no matter where we live, we’re being watched daily by God Who doesn’t require glass walls to know everything about us. The Bible tells us that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but ALL THINGS are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). He knows ALL things -- not just the things in the open, or the things said out loud> He knows all things -- all the way down to the thoughts and intents of our hearts. When it comes to God, we all live in glass houses.

So how should we feel about the God of the universe having access to any and everything about us? How should we feel about Him having complete knowledge of every thought we’ve ever had, every emotion we’ve ever felt and every decision we’ve ever made? It’s simple — we should feel relieved.

Remembering to Write it Down

So if you hang around me at all, you’ve probably seen me pull out my small notebook and write something down. I want to remember what I heard someone say or a thought that ran through my mind. And, many times, something I heard will be the inspiration for an upcoming blog. In fact, my friend was telling me about his experience during his recent prison ministry while showing the prisoners a video of beautiful waterfalls. He remarked to me: "They were so inspired because they had never seen such a beautiful sight!" I wrote in my notebook "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and that was the topic of a blog I wrote later. My current little notebook has "Blessed" on the cover. That's a bonus because I am reminded when I pick it up to write a note, how BLESSED I am.

I can’t tell you how many times that I DIDN’T write something down and sure wish I had. It's just too busy in this world for us to only rely on our noggin to remember it all. And to add to it, the older we get, the tendency is to forget even more -- especially important things that matter, like a birthday of a close friend, a doctor's appointment, a meeting, an important phone call, and making a grocery list to remember everything we need. We're so busy and have so much mind overload, a little notebook can "save the day" many times. I have understood the value of writing down my experiences. I've kept a journal for years, and when asked, I can refer to my journal for what happened on a particular date. And, now I go a step further, I carry a notebook with me all the time. I even keep a notepad by my bed just in case I think about something in the middle of the night that I need to remember. I also use my cell phone's calendar because, yes, this girl has a busy schedule.

Even if I wasn't a writer and blogger, I would still want to be prepared for that inspiration that comes just at the drop-of-a-hat. I don’t want to miss those moments, because I have missed some and just thought I'd remember them, but didn't! But I've wised up, even when I'm driving. My cell phone has a memo recorder on it, and now, I'll record a thought or inspiration. And, eventually, I had the subject of my post, blog or teaching just waiting for me.

So carry that notebook, put a pad and paper next to the bed, and record or jot down those inspirational moments that could be part of "your story" someday. I'm always encouraging mamas and daddies to journal those cute little stories of their kids. I promise you, you'll want to recall them someday. I know that neither you or I want to regret those unwritten, forgotten inspirations and joys.

Wouldn’t it be better to take a moment, write it down and then someday tell an incredible story on a talk show about how inspiration hit you on the 405 and BAM -- the greatest novel ever? Write that down, because when that day comes, REMEMBER it was ME that told you.....and I'll say, "You're welcome!"

Habakkuk 2:2 "Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets so that a runner can carry the correct message to others."

Love is Being an Encourager

"Good Afternoon! Welcome to Moe's!" Like me, I’m sure you’ve taken notice of the fast food chains and stores whose employees shout out welcoming words when we walk in their doors! It may be scripted, but to me, it's encouraging! I was noticed! I also recognize it when a salesperson has been taught to be friendly and to look for something they can compliment their customers about: "I love your hair!" "Nice sweater!" In spite of their words sounding a little trite, it still gives us a feel-good feeling, doesn’t it?

I’ve had many encouragers in my life. At age 12, I remember my first babysitting job (50 cents an hour) taking care of a doctor’s two little ones – ages 3 months and 3. Their home was right across the street from ours, so the children's mom was assured I had help on stand-by if I needed it. I’ll never forget overhearing that mom telling my Mom: “Donna is so responsible for her age!” That made me want to be even more responsible. I’ll never forget, as a 13-year old, the choir director pointing out “You harmonize so beautifully." That gave me the confidence to belt out my harmonies even more. A friend said, " Donna, you have the most beautiful clothes.” That’s because my sweet mama, on a limited income, made sure that I wore trendy, beautiful clothes and she could do that because she was a great “deal” finder. I think that’s why, to this day, I head to the sales racks before I look at the full-priced items.

Today, I am an outgoing, avid writer, blogger, teacher and speaker because my husband encouraged me to speak publicly. He encouraged me to get my pilot’s license, real estate broker’s license and more. I had a boss who encouraged me to apply for a job that I didn’t have the required Master’s Degree for, but he knew I could do the job. I did and he was right. My Sweetheart passed way and I was surrounded by encouragers who literally lifted me up above the fray with their love and support.

And, now, the encouragement I receive from so many of you, my FB and blog friends and family that cheer me on in doing what I’m doing right now -- encouraging me to keep encouraging.
I was encouraged by others and I, too, became an encourager. That’s my point today, to say it’s time for us all to put on our Encourager Hats. It’s obvious how much our world needs cheerleaders and encouragers. I know, as I type this post, you get what I’m saying because you sense God’s gift within you. You’ve been through your share of heartaches and someone was there to encourage you, so you know like 2 Corinthians 1:4 says “So that you might comfort others with the same comfort that you’ve been comforted with”, you must encourage others. Now you are passionately aware that you’ve been called to speak up, reach out and lift up others. It’s not always easy because you don’t want to intrude or be a “know it all”, but that’s not what matters. What matters is you have something to give..

God uses people to encourage people. He's looking for available hearts to love and encourage the world around them. My hand is raised. How about yours?

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing"! Rise and shine, Encouragers! Let’s go encourage!