If You Can’t Lick ‘Em – Join ‘Em

It's been "beginning to look a lot like Christmas" for months now. The big box stores have been touting us with their holiday wares since before Spring ended.This year I’m noticing even more folks skipping right over Thanksgiving and putting up their Christmas trees, house lights and decorations. Their home covered in a blanket of snow was all one of my friends needed to get her home all decorated with Christmas. One of the young volunteers who works with me at Children’s Hospital, along with her sister, put up their Christmas tree, fully decorated, while their mom was at work – completely against their mom’s desire to wait until after Thanksgiving.

Time for confession. I caved. Seems I’m still nostalgic with remembering nine years ago when I decorated our home for Christmas before Thanksgiving just before my husband passed away. I had never done that before and never since, but this year I can’t help myself. I've got a mishmosh going on -- Thanksgiving décor mixed with Christmas décor. My family will be getting two great celebration seasons rolled into one when they come in for Thanksgiving next week.

I was amused hearing some folks complaining about the early sales of Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas music playing since back in September. I understand retail stores want their bottom lines increased so they amp it up to get us into the "buying" frenzy way before the Christmas season. I can’t fault them for that. In order to vacate those shelves as quickly as possible, there are already 50% off sales.

Most of us want to embrace each season and make it as memorable as we can. We want to savor Fall with the leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice aromas and coffee, autumn décor. We want to remember the first Thanksgiving and the pilgrims and we want to make the Fall season special and meaningful. But, what's the big deal? Why should it matter when people begin to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas? What matters is that we open our hearts and our homes to gratitude at Thanksgiving and to the joys, delights, and celebrations of Christmas. Actually, both seasons could easily be merged together as one. So, here I am -- on board the early Christmas train!

Both of these beautiful seasons tend to make us more thankful, kinder, and expressing gratitude for God's blessings and for celebrating Christ’s birth. Joy to the world; the Lord has come. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I’m already allowing myself to get caught up in the miraculous Christmas story as I set out my many manger and Holy Family scenes. And, as I’m embracing and pondering all that Christmas means, when my family is together here in Frisco next week, this mode of thanksgiving, will simply open the door for all the joys and beauty of Christmas.

I've honed into this beautiful journey that will lead to the most Holy Day when our Savior was born – and, it would have been okay if I started way back in July! After all, it’s more than a season or a day. It's our reason for unspeakable joy, indescribable love, and amazing sacrifice – that the ONE Who placed the stars in the sky and Who knows them all by name -- chose to come to this earth as a little baby to be with me, understand me, live in this world like me. He totally gets me and my frailties, but better yet, He is my all powerful, incomparable, awesome and amazing God. That's plenty reason to celebrate all read round! So, the next time we're tempted to complain about "too early", let's turn that around and welcome the reminder to thank God for the Reason for the season. It’s just too great a story to compact it into only one celebration.

How Beautiful are the Hands and Feet of Caregivers

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Aunt Iris Litke, my father-in-law’s sister. After 68 years of marriage, her husband, Uncle Hugo preceded her to heaven. Their son, Art, and wife, Sharon and their son, Michael, were her caregivers. I’ve admired their strength yet tenderness in the care of this precious woman who struggled with tremendous health issues up to her passing. Hearing about their tender love and care for her made me want to reach out to my social media friends who are caregivers today and encourage you as you carry on faithfully in this beautiful ministry of caregiving. I totally believe you have the Father's heart of love and compassion.

I recognize that ministry. I was the caregiver to my precious Mama for many years and into her later years, her 24-7 caregiver. Then during my Sweetheart's illness, being his 24-7 caregiver. I watch my dear sis-in-law and her husband who welcomed my mother-in-law into their home and have given her 24/7 care. What that means is they don’t take vacations or even spend very many hours away from her. Believe me I’ve tried to step up but Mom insists on Karen being there. I get it. Her trust and security is enveloped in the devotion of her beloved daughter. Mom can only deal with a few hours without Karen’s undivided attention. I assure you -- these beautiful caregivers are living with no regrets. I know. I have no regrets in the care of my mom and my husband.

Caregiving should never feel like it's merely a duty or obligation. Caregiving can be welcomed into our hearts as a God-given ministry. It may be a hidden ministry that goes unnoticed by many, but it is a ministry that God sees and one that pleases Him. Jesus recognized its importance when He said, “Whoever helps one of these little ones because they are my followers will truly get his reward. He will get his reward even if he only gave my follower a cup of cold water.” Matthew 10:42.

As a caregiver, God will use your hands as an extension of His hands -- to hold, to support, to embrace, to comfort, to bless, to help, to heal. He will use your words— to encourage, to build up, to speak hope, to convey truth, to strengthen faith, to deepen trust, to impart love. He will use your presence— to show care, to bring companionship, to wipe a tear, to soothe a pain, to dispel a fear, to rub a brow, to kiss a cheek, to hold a hand, to fluff a pillow, to reassure when there’s a setback, to celebrate when progress is made. Those actions certainly do sound like the actions and character of God. God with skin on.

As His servants, the ministry of caregiving means that whatever it is we do to help another, even if it means the simple act of giving a glass of water, the Lord receives it as a ministry done unto Him. How blessed we are to be able to make God's heart glad as we touch others with His love. I can imagine He is giving you applause and a standing ovation for a "job well done"! In fact, He’s saying “Well done, good and faithful servants. Enter into my joy. You earned it. Receive it.”

A Value-Added Life is an Empowered Life

My daughter is the director and founder of a faith-based, non-profit organization called EMwomen (Empowering Women) that exists to embrace, educate, equip and empower women and girls who have been impacted by some of life’s greatest challenges. Many of these gals have come from lives of abuse, homelessness, addiction, abortion, and hopelessness. Now, they are transformed women as they turned those pains into blessings through the power of Jesus Christ in their lives. It is a honor to join with these precious women every week. Eleven of these gals met on Monday night, me included, and I was the honoree because it was my birthday. I was also the guest speaker. When Staci first asked me to speak on my birthday, my initial response was “No, I want to just chill on my birthday – not be thinking about speaking.” She understood. Our conversation ended. But, Holy Spirit nudged me to share, because IT IS my birthday. I quickly called her back and recanted.

I’m so happy I accepted “the call”. These precious women celebrated me by their presence AND their presents of themselves, beautiful cards, hand-written notes and precious gifts. In my talk I shared about my “empowered” life that started with a praying mother and becoming well acquainted with her value system. Those values included honesty, integrity, character and following the leading of my conscience when choosing right from wrong. She explained that our conscience is the Holy Spirit Who takes up residence in our hearts when we ask God to be the center of our lives through His Son, Jesus Christ. So, when I would head out with my friends or my boyfriend, her parting words of “Let your conscience be your guide!” stuck with me like glue. I heard her voice in my ears when I was choosing integrity, honesty, and character. Character is doing the right thing when no one is looking – and when she wasn’t looking!

What I remembered most about my mom was her unwavering faith. Faith, because her values began and ended with her relationship with God. She made it through some of the most difficult times (my dad’s debilitating illness when I was just eight years old, her being our sole provider, raising me and dad’s passing when I was fifteen). My mom’s value system passed down to me. It would equip and sustain me through plenty of tough times, but none greater than when my own husband became very ill and passed away. My Mom's abiding faith was because of her God-relationship and it is what I “preach and teach” daily through my blogs and counsel to others.

That is what I wanted most for these beautiful young women to get and embrace too. I’m purposing to live each remaining day of my life as if it is my last day. I mean it. I don’t want anything to come between me and God. I say “Forgive me a lot!” when I’ve chosen my words and actions unwisely. I ask God for forgiveness when I know I’ve messed up. I endeavor to spend each day wisely, acknowledge the Lord in prayer, spend daily time with Him, and serve Him in loving others, and in making a positive impact on our generation for Him.

As an “older woman who taught the younger women” (Titus 2:3-5) on Monday night, I am impressing upon you who are younger or older than me to live with the values of serving God with all your heart, letting the Holy Spirit be your guide – your conscience, and when you face a decision, “Do I or don’t I?” – to choose life. The abundant life – that even in the toughest times – you’ll be empowered to do the right things when no one is looking, and empowered to be the example of strong values when they are looking. I’m harvesting the blessings of living that empowered life and I assure you – it is a value-added life!

Even Mistakes Can Become Blessings

My word for today is MISTAKE: error, slip-up, blunder, miscalculation, misunderstanding, oversight, misinterpretation, gaffe, faux pas. Goodness gracious, I didn’t realize that a mistake had so many synonyms. Now I can see how easy it is to feel so guilty from making a simple MISTAKE.

My cousin (who lives just a few blocks from me) and I had a girls’ day out in early November when we went to the Junior League of Collin County’s fundraiser, Holiday Gift Market. It sure put us in the Christmas spirit. They always have yummy food samples, and unique one-of-a-kind items from artisans selling their wares. We bought a few nominally priced items, but I kept going back to a booth that had beautiful wood crafted items with “BLESSED” on them. I couldn’t help myself, even though the item I wanted was pricier than I had planned or needed to have expensed.

That night, I had buyer’s remorse. I was going to gift it, but then I couldn't picture it in any of the homes that I had potentially purchased it for. As silly as it was, I lost sleep over my “impulse” purchase. I put it away under a bed because I didn’t want to think about it. I just had to admit my MISTAKE and do my best to get over it. I even asked God to forgive me for being so impulsive. I never gifted it. I took down my Christmas decor and I thought, "maybe that wood décor would look good on my mantle." And, to my joy and delight, it seemed to have been designed to go under my desert painting that reminded me of Israel. The cactus in the wood flowed right into the picture.

That’s when I could almost hear God saying “Merry Christmas, Donna!” I realized Romans 8:28 “ALL things work together for good (even MISTAKES) to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” I fretted over something so minor, yet God was so intentional in teaching me another life lesson.

It’s so easy to fixate on yesterdays and yester-years and the guilts associated with mistakes we may have made. MISTAKES can be as little as an “oopsie” or as big as a devastating catastrophe that alters the course of our lives. No matter what kind of MISTAKE we make, there is always a solution for restitution. It comes in the form of grace. God’s grace that heals and restores, and He exchanges our tarnished slate, for a fresh, clean slate so we can begin again. Oftentimes, our mistakes and failures are gifts, gems, and guideposts, so we should embrace mistakes, failures, screw ups and shortcomings because they not only make us uniquely who we are, but also teach us powerful lessons.

As God's repentant kids, the good news about making MISTAKES, is our mistakes are forgivable. God's amazing grace can turn any MISTAKE into something good. Again, Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes." Most importantly, it reminds me that my God is bigger than my faults and weaknesses and He can turn anything around for His glory!

Happy Anniversary #51

A few days ago, I was with a group of ladies, and in casual conversation, I asked the gal beside me how long she’d been married. She said “44 long years – some days I think ‘That’s enough, already!’” Then she laughed and I knew she was just kidding, but that didn’t stop me from saying “Oh, my dear, I was married 44 years and that’s all I had with my sweetheart – it wasn’t enough!”

A dear Canadian friend of mine was celebrating her 51st anniversary with her husband and she was expressing the joys she had of being married to her wonderful husband. I commented on her post “This would've been our 51st anniversary on July 8th. Keep celebrating those as long as you can. Much love and blessings to you.”

And, to all you sweet married women today, I say “Cherish, embrace, celebrate, and romance the relationship you have with your husbands – and to the men, with your wives.” This life is so short and making every minute count with those we love on this side of heaven is so precious. And it will carry us through to eternity – on that side of heaven!

Of course I’m thinking those thoughts today because 51 years ago today, July 8, 1966 -- I married the love of my life, I was 17; he was 18 -- and that was after a LONG 5 years courtship -- since 12 & 13! And, if I had it to do over again, I’d do it ALL OVER AGAIN! Though many said “It will never last – you’re too young – don't get tied down yet -- you have so much life to live -- you’ll miss out on so much fun", I thought it then and I think it now – “You’re too late with your words of gloom and despair, because this ship has already left dock!” LOL! NEVER did I think "tied down" -- we lived life to its fullest, and had SO MUCH FUN! Yes, we WERE young and immature. We made a LOT of mistakes – but we did so much that was right!! We had a blast living life, and a blast "overcoming" life, and its many surprises and challenges.

When my sweetheart graduated to heaven in 2010 -- I realized how blessed I was to have had him in my life for so many years. This precious man was my cheerleader, coach, counselor, confidante, caring and compassionate friend, and romantic lover. Most importantly, he brought out the best in me – literally, as I was a shy introvert, with so many insecurities, lacking in confidence, yet he saw so much more in me. He urged, coerced, and pushed me to be the best I could be. Because of him, I became a Mom to two truly great children, grandmother to six grandchildren (plus one, my sweet Ruth, wife of Braden) and also, an accomplished organist & pianist, a pilot, a real estate and securities broker, a fisherman (woman), a slalom water skier, a snow skier, a businesswoman, an administrator, a public speaker and, lover of God's Word and fully desiring to serve Him all the days of my life.
I miss him today – more than ever, but because I love him so much, I am overwhelmed with joy that he could be in heaven ahead of me -- he's on his heavenly assignment -- he earned and deserves this. And, of all the beautiful things he gave me, and urged me to become, I absolutely know that the peace, joy and happiness I’m experiencing today, is because of the impact he had on my life – to always look for the good in every circumstance, to be grateful for everything, to be determined to finish this race strong. Happy Anniversary, my Sweetheart! I'm having a blast here.....and I guarantee I'll keep your legacy strong until I BLAST OUT OF HERE to be THERE with you!