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.

Living Life as an Exclamation Point!

In the spur of the moment, I hit the road to Austin on Sunday for just a 24-hour stay. What is that about? It's about living with no regrets and seizing the moments to living my life as an "exclamation point". I had the opportunity to see my 14-year old grandson pitch nearly his entire baseball game, followed by surprising my sweet grandson's wife (my granddaughter, Ruth Hays Wuerch) by getting to celebrate her birthday. Ruth is a triplet and it's so beautiful that her sister lives and works in Austin and we were able to celebrate both girls, while the 3rd triplet is a Navy Officer stationed in Corpus Christi. It was especially exciting to be in Austin to celebrate their upcoming move from Atlanta to Austin. Yay! My "Wuerch" men will all be living in Austin in just a couple of weeks. Lots more opportunity for exclamation points!

James 4:14 "You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James gave us a "spoiler alert"! He said our lives would be like a vapor that appears and then, just as quickly, vanishes! That's a reality check -- especially for those of us who, in our 20s -- looked at the old folks (in their 50s) and thought, "They are so old!" Now, we are past our 50s and "old folks"don't seem so old anymore! LOL!

The fact is -- the length of our lives isn't based at all on quantity, but it's based on quality. This gift of life, however brief, should be spent living in such a way that the very One who created us will always look upon His investment as a "creation....well done"! Rather than looking at how fast time goes by, wouldn't it be more productive to think....."How can I make the most of the time that I have?" What if we put an exclamation point on every day we have? An exclamation point is reserved for the accomplishments that excite our spirits and set our hearts on fire. Living a humdrum life doesn't get an exclamation point. Spending precious time complaining, whining, worrying, being cranky and cynical doesn't get an exclamation point.

Getting an exclamation point has everything to do with how we wake up each day. Getting an exclamation point has something to do with "hitting-the-ground-running" each day. There's just no time to be thinking about the good old days. I love my memories. I love all of my old photos. But if I want an exclamation point at the end of each and every day, I need to wake up saying "What can I do TODAY to leave a mark and a legacy?" Here's what "Exclamation Point" recipients look like:
They have a life to live so they live it… exclamation point!
They have an assignment to complete…exclaimation point!
They have work to be done….exclamation point!
They have a victory to achieve….exclamation point!
They have a devil to defeat….exclamation point!
They have a storm to calm….exclamation point!
They have a prayer to pray…exclamation point!
They have a promise to claim… exclamation point!
They have a habit to conquer…. exclamation point!
They have a temptation to overcome….exclamation point!
They have an enemy to love…. exclamation point!
They have a burden to lift…. exclamation point!
They have a friend to help….exclamation point!
They have a race to be won...exclamation point!

On a gravestone, it shows a date born, then a hyphen, then the date of death. The hyphen represents all the in between birth and death -- what that person accomplished in their lifetime. Quite frankly.....I'd like for mine to have on it:
"DONNA LIVED.... EXCLAMATION POINT!!"