Somebody Else Will

A dear friend of mine is having quite the year. She has faced personal health issues and as the director of an active, vibrant ministry – was loaded up with leading it in a major event, and was tremendously successful at it, I might add. She has two children getting married this year (one this weekend), and has a full-time job -- not to mention all the other hands-on and necessary things she does for God and her family. She has been loaded up, to say the least. A few months ago, I campaigned the troops to get behind her in support. My personal attempts were meager. In the back of my mind, I thought “someone else” will help her because I'm loaded up, too! In fact, I heard of a couple of gals who were helping her which made me feel better.

Fast forward a couple of months when I saw my friend at church and asked. “How are you doing? How are the wedding plans? It won’t be long before it’s all behind you.” My famous last meager and inadequate words of solace. That night, Deacon Alex Barbieri spoke about “Somebody Else”. He explained: “Jesus was very hands-on with His disciples – teaching them about feeding a crowd with just a few loaves and fishes." The disciples seemed to always have self-doubt and were always asking the question: “What about us?” Jesus just kept influencing them by saying “You are up for the challenge. You are bold and courageous." Jesus takes our “measly” remnants to meet us wherever we are and whatever situation we are in. Don’t wait for Plan B. Use what you’ve got right now to help someone. It’s time you make a personal commitment. The DNA of Christians is called "service". Jesus said, ”If you follow Me, the bar is higher." Jesus was saying “Instead of SOMEONE ELSE doing it – YOU do it." There is someone who died and the family needs us. There are immigrants, prisoners, homeless and others who need us, but we keep thinking: “Someone else will take care of them!” Jesus is saying: “JUST DO IT!”

I couldn’t get that message off my mind and my heart. I texted my friend: “I’ve got a free day tomorrow! Can I come over and help you?” Her lightning fast reply was my assurance that I was hearing right. She invited me to come over and help her iron tablecloths for the wedding. Rather, than that, I picked them up and at my home I took care of the job so she had the time to do something else on her busy to-do list. It took me a couple of days for those thirty-one 144” tablecloths to iron and hang – which included my prayers for the wedding and the family. That was eight hours of blessing on both our parts. Tablecloths. A cup of cold water. In His name. Blessed.

This time it wasn’t “somebody else”. It was me. I’m so thankful I said, “Pick me!” Lord, help me to always have the time to sense your nudges, hear your call, see the needs of others and respond as your hands and feet. I want to be a “JUST DO IT” kind-of-girl for You and others, because You are a "JUST DID IT" Lord for me!

No Excuses -- Just Do It!

In Exodus we read all the excuses Moses had when God asked him to step up and deliver His people from the grip of the Egyptians. Listen to the excuses he had: I’m not good enough, I don’t have all the answers, People won’t believe me,I’m a terrible public speaker, and I’m not qualified. Thankfully, he got over his "excuses" attitude and became the man that showed remarkable courage, obedience, and strength of character. He fulfilled his mission faithfully. God works with each of us where we are and takes us to where He wants us to be. We just need to be willing to leave behind the excuses.

It's no secret that I'm a reality show junkie. I particularly enjoy the ones that display die-hard athletes who push themselves to the limits in crazy obstacle courses and apparatuses. A new show just came out called Spartan where families and friends come together as teams to compete for a big prize, but to win that big prize they must conquer obstacle courses unlike any I've ever seen. It's an adrenaline rush to watch them. But, still, my favorite show is ANW (American Ninja Warrior) especially because of the background and the insurmountable difficulties of some of the athletes who compete.

Last week's ANW featured Allison Toepperwein, a 38-year old, single mom who has Parkinson's Disease. Of all things, she started training for ANW because she learned that the ony thing that slows down Parkinson's disease is exercise. When she does ninja training, she has more energy, no tremors, gets a natural high from the dopemin that is produced. She said, "ANW was the catalyst I needed to be the very best mother and person I can be. So what if I have to take meds three times a day. Who cares that I shake a little when I wake up, get nervous or when my meds wear off? The greatest lesson I could have learned from ANW has been realizing PD is NOT a liability to me!" Whew! Watching her face those apparatuses was beyond incredible. She didn't make it through to the end, but I give this gal so much credit for being a "No excuses" kind of gal.

Then there was Artis Thompson, who had lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, and now wears a prosthetic and took on the ANW course with fierceness. The commentator said, "Those of you viewing at home, what's YOUR excuse?"

Those words went deep into my spirit as even at this "mature" age, I don't want to have excuses for not giving everything I've got to this life I've been given. I want my story to end with "She was unstoppable!" No, I'm not planning on trying out for some ninja obstacles or apparatuses, but I do plan to continue to be God's Ninja Warrior -- taking on life's obstacles, challenges and pressures with a vengeance. I refuse to give up until I'm taken up. There a hyphen in between the date of birth and the date of death on gravestones. What does that hyphen represent in our lives? I sure want mine to be "lived life to the fullest, didn't accept quitting, ran her race with gusto, pressed on to the finish line". What does your hyphen represent? With God, limits are all off! I don't think "excuse" is in His vocabulary. Why should it be in ours?

JUST DO IT

Day 308 of Photo Inspirations -- JUST DO IT!
Yesterday's Bible Study was on the Fruit of the Spirit's quality of Faithfulness.   What does "faithfulness" look like to you?  If God is our standard for faithfulness, then we have a lot to measure up to.  Just the thought of His faithfulness, overwhelms me.  He never gives up on us.  He's ALWAYS there for us. We never have to question His fidelity, loyalty and integrity.  He just DOES IT!

Nike's slogan "Just Do It" is a good slogan for Faithfulness -- just doing it -- the right thing -- no matter what.  Doing it regardless of feelings, moods or desires.  

Of course, we look to God for His strength on a daily basis.  Every day we're tempted to give excuses for NOT DOING IT.  We're tired, so we say “I can’t do it.”  We're just plain lazy, so we say, "I don’t want to do it."  We're feeling hopeless, so we say, "It doesn’t matter if I do it.  Why try?"  We procrastinate, so we say, “I’ll do it later."  We rationalize that we don't need to do it, so we say, "Someone else will do it."  We're apathetic to it all, so we say, “I don’t care if I do it."   We're rebellious, so we say, "I won't do it!"
 
Let’s bring it home.  What are the true marks of faithfulness that we want to bear and emulate with a JUST DO IT attitude:

We follow through…on whatever we have to do and we finish it.
We come through….no matter what.
We deliver the goods…..a borrowed cup of sugar.or a finished project.
We show up…..even early so others won’t worry.
We keep our word….our 'yes' means yes and our 'no' means no
We keep our commitments and appointments….we don't cancel.
We are regular church attenders......we don’t neglect worshipping our FAITHFUL God.
We are devoted to fidelity, loyalty, integrity and honor in friendships and marriage.
We live by the Golden Rule and the 10 Commandments.  

We may stumble from time to time, but we don’t stay down for long -- for we are faithful and devoted followers of Christ.  One day we’ll be rewarded because of our FAITHFULNESS and we'll hear these beautiful words: ‘Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant! You have been FAITHFUL with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:21

Choose FAITHFULNESS!

Before You Quit.....Try

When you feel like you have every reason in the world to quit, look around at those who have so much more reason than you do to quit.....but they don't. They intend to soar, and people who soar, are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot in life, nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they just refuse to be quitters. They won't allow life's circumstances to push them down and hold them under. They push through and pull up. QUIT is just not in their vocabulary!

This photo is of Jessica Cox. She suffered a rare birth defect and was born without arms. BUT, she was also born with a determined spirit. With what she had -- she pushed through to success -- no matter the tremendous effort, pain, and discomfort or how long it would take her. Jessica, from Tuscon, AZ, is a psychology graduate that can write, type, drive a car, brush her hair and talk on her phone by simply using her feet. She is also a dancer and has a double black belt in Tai Kwon-Do. The plane she flies is one of the few airplanes to be made and certified without pedals. Without rudder pedals, Jessica is free to use her feet as hands. She took three years instead of the usual six months to complete her lightweight aircraft license, had three flying instructors and practiced 89 hours of flying, becoming the first pilot with no arms.

And what was that I heard people say about QUITTING? "I can't because I......." REALLY? I'd say we have every reason in the world to pursue our dreams, our goals and our visions -- we have too many blessings, have been given way too much, and BEST OF ALL , we have a Heavenly Father, WHO with ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! I'd say, WE CAN!!! So, let's just DO IT!

Mama's Got Game

This Mama's "Got Game"! When someone says that about me, it means “She’s NOT just a fan watching from the sidelines or the stands -– she’s in the game, playing on the field, and not only hitting the ball – but knocking it out of the ballpark (well, at least in my imagination).” And I've got game in many areas of my life, but, I just felt it's time to explain my WHY about playing in the Solavei Game!

In October, 2011, my son, Ryan, and his amazing wife, Shawntel, were talking strategies about what their next business enterprise would be. After all, Ryan had, just a few months prior, exited from the company he founded, built to a $1.2 billion valuation and took it public on Nasdaq. After 10 years of diligence and hard work, they could have relaxed back and enjoyed the fruit of their labors.

It was in that same month that Ryan had an epiphany – to create a company, uncharacteristic of typical “big enterprise mentality”. This company would be one that placed its values on relationships and core values and providing a tangible means of helping people make a better living for themselves and their family. Of course, I wanted to be a part of something that had that vision leading it. When I first heard that vision, I said, “Game on!” But, then Ryan said, “Mom, I told Dad I was going to take care of you. You just be the grandmother of Solavei (the new company). Initially, I thought, “Beautiful – Mama can be a cheerleader and support the “Sol Train” (aka Solavei Team)! But after hearing my daughter, Staci, share her passion for seeing our country’s economy revived and many people’s lives transformed, I could just hear my Honey speaking to me from heaven and saying “Donna, what are you thinking? Really, you’re going to sit back and watch what we believed, prayed and planted the seeds for – for over 40 years? Do you really want to be the grandmother of anything besides our six grandchildren?” And to that, I responded with a resounding, “NO!”

So, then, I had to put a plan together, a case for Mama being in the game. No handouts expected. No rules of engagement any different from any other player on the field. I couldn't just “talk the talk”. I had to “walk the walk” and put my plan to action. I set out to be the “Poster Mama” – showing others what can happen when we stop whining about being “too little or too big; too old or too young; too female or too male; too black or too white; it’s too difficult or too easy”……and to JUST DO IT!! And, so I did, and so I am!!

Yes, here I am today….playing in this game. I’m loving it. And, my team is loving it too! I’m a Founding Member of Solavei, on the Social Commerce Advisory Committee and blessed with the extra $$ I really needed at this time of my life. My son said, “Mom, you’re a machine!” Some of my friends are probably thinking, “What happened to Donna? Where is she?” Would you please tell them for me? “Donna’s in the batting cage – she’s practicing her swing, throwing the ball – practicing her pitches, she’s on the field doing her warm-ups, getting the plays down and working hard to be her best -- from sun-up to sun-down.” Oh, yes, Donna’s got game! And, it’s not a competition with anyone other than ME! And at the end of this game season, I will have fulfilled my game assignment!! And you won’t hear me saying “I wish I had!” Oh, no! I’ll be saying “I’m so glad I did!" Now, Bat - Her - Up!