It’s My 10 Years Anniversary

If you’re on Facebook or if, over the last few weeks, you watched the news about its co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, you'll be amused that my “word of the day” is “Facebook” (FB). FB is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends and family.

These little photos popped up yesterday because 10 years ago on April 16th, 2008, I became a Facebook user. It was the newest and best tool to connect with friends and family that I hadn’t seen or heard from in years. Then I found it to be painfully ridiculous as I would read posts where people were complaining about their deadbeat husbands or their high energy children or their dog who had left their home in a shambles or were singing that “Somebody Done Me Wrong” song. I didn’t even want to check my page, so I went AWOL with FB.

Then fast forward two years, 2010, when we received my husband’s medical diagnosis of Stage 4 Kidney Cancer. We had been the ones who encouraged and prayed with many people who had serious illnesses. Now, we had to practice what we had preached “Trust God. Live with expectancy of something good getting ready to happen. Throw your hands up in the air and enjoy the ride.” This is when FB became a platform for me to share our faith journey, and in doing so, made sure we were living out what we believed in our hearts...."Nothing is impossible with God" so we expressed optimism, hope, and faith, even though it was the toughest battle we had ever faced in our lives.

Living life out loud on Facebook became a gift to me. I found sweet peace in writing. FB became a place of solace because it connected me to thousands of friends and family members. I needed that connection. I wrote about our faith journey -- conquering and winning through it all -- even his graduation to heaven and to my new world as a widow became a win.

Here's what I know for sure. All those things that seemed so important before, soon became so trivial. My priorities shifted to making moments count more than ever before. Now I know the stuff of life are those everyday precious moments that matter most. Now when I hear people complain about FB and other social media posts being the outlet for people to get depressed, I think “compared to what?” I loved the post of a friend who feels like I do about social media. Here are words she posted a few weeks ago:

“Before social media -- it was the radio and television that made people aware of war, communist threats, potential nuclear meltdown, race wars, starvation, political unrest and maybe one little feel good human interest story on the side. Pretty easy to feel good about yourself when the world is going to hell in a hand basket, right?! Enter the social media age. It is a constant presence in the lives of billions of people across the globe. Facebook alone boasts of nearly 1.8 billion users. A vast majority of people post the “highlight reel” of their lives. They post their cute dogs, their adorable babies, their sexy spouses, sunny vacations and wonderfully decorated living spaces. And it depresses some people? Really? 🛑Not me. I gravitate towards time on social media because I love to see the “happy” in people’s lives. I love their cute babies and dogs, their amazing spouses and homes, and especially those vacations. In fact, if you are a Debbie Downer or a continual Negative Nancy, you will find I have quietly unfriended, unfollowed or hidden your posts. 🙀 I choose to spend my time engaging with positive, uplifting, encouraging post-ers and I look forward to my nightly social media time to check in on the “wonderful” of people’s lives. (No, I don’t watch the news.) For me, posting a selfie that I feel good about is my way of staying positive about my self-image and saying “I think I like myself today.” Can we all please do a little more of that?! " 😘

So, happy 10 year FB anniversary to me. I daily give God thanks for the privilege of having friends like YOU who indulge me as I proclaim God’s good news in my FB posts. I sincerely believe God has me on assignment each day for these 6:00 am posts. Maybe FB annoys you when you see some of the shenanigans of people and some of the outrageous things they say. On the other hand, like me, maybe God is calling you to be a good news "bearer" that sees FB as a mission field where you can share God's love to a world that needs it so much. Maybe it's your light that will turn off the darkness in their world. So shine, Baby, shine!

"Then He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15) Thanks, FB, for helping to facilitate 10 years of spreading that "good news". I love living in this glass home where others can see my heart for God and His love for all of my FB friends and family AND me!

Complain and Remain; Praise and Be Raised

Complain and Remain; Praise and Be Raised
COMPLAIN: to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something; grumble, criticize, moan, find fault
PRAISE: compliment, commend, express admiration for, applaud, speak highly of, admire, gratitude

Maybe you live with or know someone who seems to be an incessant COMPLAINER – they seem to always find something to complain about: the weather, the president, their next-door neighbor, their body aches and pains, their spouse, their children, their church. I back out of conversations as quickly as possible with those folks. They are certainly not my “besties”. Then there are those who are incessant PRAISERS – they habitually have something to be grateful for, have sunny dispositions and always seem to find the good in everything.

While there are plenty of folks we encounter each day who are filled with optimism, in spite of their negative situations, still there are plenty of “Debbie Downers” around. In case you don’t know who “Debbie Downer” is – she’s someone who frequently adds bad news and negative feelings to any conversation. She can be found everywhere. Her presence puts an abrupt end to the enthusiasm of others. She is critical of herself and others, and fails to see why people can be happy about anything when there is so much to worry about. Debbie Downer isn’t just negative: she is a pessimist to the core. She can see the downside to anything and won’t hesitate to mention it. She plans for the worse and even finds comfort in her negative mindset. Most Debbie Downers believe that they are only being realistic and everyone else is impractical and delusional.

I know there are reasons why we have innate personalities and outlook mindsets. We are products of the environment we were raised in – our homes, schools, family values, our faith. I’m so grateful that I was raised in a church-going, Bible-toting, song-singing and gratitude-lifting home. We were blessed, but not with material wealth. I was raised having a very sick daddy who couldn’t work and my Mama had to bring in the income for our little family of three (older siblings had married and left the nest). I never heard her COMPLAIN about her “lot in life”. She was a PRAISER – not a COMPLAINER. I recall hearing her singing and praying in the midst of our circumstances.

My husband and I were Zig Ziglar junkies which meant we pursued optimism and gratitude – so much so that our little girl at age 6 would correct someone who said “That scared me to death!” She’d say, “No, it scared you to life!” She did get a little annoying to those who didn’t want a 6-year old correcting them, but, no doubt, her message was clear. Debbie Downers and anyone who talks negatively, even casually, and complains about their present circumstances and challenges will determine how long they’ll get to stay right there, and, if they keep it up, they'll even get to go around the same mountain again and again and again! Remember the Israelites being stuck wandering in the wilderness for 40 years -- that should have taken them only 11 days (Deuteronomy 1:2)? They complained....and remained!

Maybe your environment was and is different than mine was and today, you feel like you’re in a desert of defeat, worry and fear. Maybe it feels like you’re getting nowhere fast. We can do something to help change that. Could it possibly be that the stalemate has much to do with negative thinking and speaking. Just maybe you've remained because you’ve complained way more than you praised God for the blessings you do have. Not that I’m suggesting that we be a “Pollyanna” or “Little Mary Sunshine” all the time, but I am suggesting that the more we catch ourselves when we’re complaining, to find ways to be praising instead, the more we’ll be blessed.

I listened to an audio book about an Episcopalian Priest who had a habit of “sighing and moaning” all the time. Rather than speaking negatively, he just moaned and those moans indicated his complaints. To create a better atmosphere of praising instead of complaining, he set up for himself a “Sighing/Moaning” jar. Every time he sighed, he’d have to add a dollar to the jar. I laughed out loud when he was up to $11 in a short period of time. He recognized that even his thoughts were complaining so he did something about it.

Maybe it’s time we do something about it, too! Here’s our options: We COMPLAIN. We remain. We PRAISE. We are raised! When our PRAISES go UP, the blessings come down.
#COMPLAIN...and remain! OR #PRAISE....and be raised!

Does Your Heart Need a Defibrillator (Your Spiritual Heart, that is)?

A few days ago I shared about the rhythms of our lives and if we trust God, He will set the tempo and even when there's ups and downs, we'll understand all the various rhythms can be by God's design. I knew I was supposed to move to Texas when my home in Tulsa sold with little effort. Maybe I was disillusioned into thinking I was moving to my Promised Land, to a "land flowing with milk and honey" instead of giants in the land. (Okay -- I'm thinking about Joshua and his spies checking out their Promised Land again.)

While I've had my share of "milk and honey", I've also run into some distractions (like the hail damage to my home, property insurance issues, a misjudgment on how close a car was in front of me that led to a collision, a flu bug that landed on me, indecisiveness about some other decisions, etc.), that my mind went into a "tilt" mode and I actually started thinking "Is this all because I moved to Texas?" Hmm! That also sounds like Joshua's crowd "Yes, there's milk and honey there, but we're like grasshoppers compared to them!" This "side" was supposed to have been the "greener" side. Wah! Wah! Wah! Doesn't that sound like Debbie "Downer"? LOL!

It wasn't long before I knew I was exactly in the place God wanted me to be OR the enemy wouldn't be nagging at me so much. I needed to heed my Father's words, from the outset, "Trust Me!" Those adversities had me out of rhythm. It occurred to me -- I wasn't handling the adversity the right way, because adversity can actually restore our prayer and praise rhythm and resurrect our relationship with our Father Who loves us, cares for us and knows what's best for us. When we apply the "defibrillator" of praying AND praising, those dead emotions and attitudes of defeat will be destroyed and replaced by unstoppable and audacious faith in God's Word and promises that we MUST HAVE in the days we're living in!

I shared that my car had to be towed into the Buick dealership because it wouldn't start. Of all things, it wouldn't start because the gas tank was empty, even though the indicator said there was gas in it. I was facing an $1100 repair. My heart got its heartbeat back when I started praying and praising AND when I was told "The $1100 will be taken care of by your extended warranty!" It was like the Jericho walls came tumbling down. Yes, I prayed, but I needed to praise after I prayed -- because I could trust in Him who said "Trust Me!" Prayer is asking God to do something (future tense) and praise is believing that God has already done it -- past tense -- just like when God told Joshua (before the walls came down) "“Look! I have given Jericho over to your control" (Joshua 6:2). The defibrillator of prayer and praise set Joshua and his troops to walking, and my feet dancing and my heart pumping strong on God's unfailing love and grace.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Two Are Better Than One

My photo inspiration today is my two youngest grandsons -- Brennan & Bryson. I knew someday I'd get a caption for it. Today is that day.

"You mean the world to me and my life just wouldn't be the same without you." How's that for expressing gratitude for someone in our life?

We all know some not-so-fun-to-be-around folks. Case in point -- there's an guy that I frequently encounter, and, bless his heart, he has a propensity toward negativity. Honestly, at one time, I avoided him every chance I could, because he was "wah wah Debbie Downer" most of the time. Trying to "light up his life" was a work-out. Then one day, I went in for the jugular and said, "Do you realize how pessimistic you can be when there's just so much to be thankful about? Don't you know that we can make this world a better place by having good thoughts and saying good things?" There, I said it and I was waiting to get an ear-full, but to my surprise and delight, he recoiled and proceeded to apologize to me and, word has it, that he has become a better version of himself. Rather than avoiding him, he just needed someone to tenderly help him see who he had become, and help him see who he could be.

Bottom line, each of us can be better because of someone else's influence. God purposefully created each of us with special gifts and insights. He made each of us with a need for each other. Despite our many differences, just look at what we have in common:

Each of us is God's child.
Each of us wants to love and be loved.
Each of us is made in the image of God.
Each of us has needs — body, soul and spirit.
Each of us has hopes and dreams
Each of us has talents and gifts.
Each of us has joys and sorrows.
Each of us is a work in progress. (Please be patient with me -- God's not finished with me yet!)

Ecclesiastes 5:9-10 "Two are better than one...If one falls down, his friend can help him up."

John 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

Seriously, God intended us to truly be “better together.” We have to care for each other and look at the whole (instead of just ourselves). We have to reach out to those in need and love them — with our words, our time, and our resources.

Instead of walking on the other side of the street or avoiding those cranky souls, just maybe God will use us to help them. We are not meant to be alone. We need each other. No one is better than another. Truly, we are better together.