His Assets My Pleasure

Last week my trip to Tulsa included a visit with friends in the community I lived in prior to my move to Frisco. Sharon and I joined up for an early morning walk as we did so often when I lived there. We recalled praying for our community on those walks and called our Hyde Park, Holy Property. I’m amazed as I see the once barren land when I built my home, to where there are so many residents and beautiful homes built there today.

We met up with another neighbor, Deborah, whose husband recently passed away and she, like me, understands he completed his earth-assignment and now she knows she has her own assignment to fulfill. I knew a blog was on its way because her story inspired me so much.

Deborah’s dear husband suffered from Alzheimer's for many years which meant Deborah had to quit her full-time job to be at home to give him the care he needed. In that season, she started a home acquisition company where she buys homes, renovates and flips them shortly thereafter. Her acquisition company is called HAMP which is an acronym for “His Assets My Pleasure”. The name of her building and remodeling business is called Honey Bee Homes. She said: “It’s pure and natural.” The meaning of “Deborah” is Honey Bee. She said: “This is a restoration business just like Jesus had.”

Deborah meant it's a home AND people restoration business. “I bought a home in not such a great part of town. It needed a lot of attention, but I acquired it anyway. One day, a man riding a bike stopped by the house and asked if I needed help. She asked, “What is your expertise?” He replied, “I can do anything.” She gave him a tour of the house and all the things that needed to be done. What he couldn’t do, he said: “I have a friend that can do this part and another friend that can do that part.” She hired all three men. Only one had a vehicle – a beat-up truck that kept breaking down. One day it ran out of gas. Deborah got a gas container and took him the gas. The other two men rode bicycles. They helped her She helped them. Deborah said, “I took them crockpot meals, Krispy Kremes and I kept a left-over refrigerator stocked with water for them. I took lunch to them and sometimes I took them out to lunch. You could tell on their faces that they were really impressed – that I would take them to a nice restaurant.” These men had been in jail and with a record, it was difficult to find jobs. The restorer of homes and people, she gifted them with dignity and pride as they were completely willing to put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

Deborah said these men were raised in lifestyles where they had to learn and do everything. All from different descents and different expertise, they worked well together. The house had been abused and in such disrepair that they had to gut most of it -- taking out all the floors and putting in new joist and floors. During the winter it was so cold outside for the 8-mile bicycle rider who lived with his Mom. Deborah set him up with a heater and a bed in the home. It worked out well because in that part of town she needed someone to look over the house anyway.

She added: “I just sold the house last week. I bought it for $40,000 and sold it for $122,000. But I had a $100K in it and I was able to give them work. I loved Deborah’s “ashes to beauty” story. She could have been a widow who refused to live out her destiny. But she didn’t. She gave formerly incarcerated men jobs for the same reasons as everyone else: to support themselves and their loved ones, pursue life goals, and strengthen their communities. God has used her to live on purpose. She yielded to God’s words from Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” She knows those words for herself and for others.

We serve a God of restoration! You, too, may have had some disappointments or unfair things happen in your life; but instead of dwelling on the past and living in defeat, choose to focus on His promises because God wants to restore you with beauty for your ashes. He wants to restore your joy, your peace, your health, and your finances. Draw a line in the sand and say, “I am a child of the Most High God, and I’m not going to live my life in defeat. This is a new day, and I’m taking back what belongs to me!” That’s having a restoration mentality!

Indeed, like Jesus, Deborah is in the restoration business – restoring homes and people’s lives. Maybe that's the business we should all be in -- loving, caring and restoring the lives of God's precious children.

Time to Take Back What the Enemy Has Stolen

While I was in Michael’s a few days ago, I saw the Fall décor 70% off sale. I saw this little squirrel that reminded me of the sandwich-snatching squirrel we met up with at Sea World. My daughter reminded me of the encounter. We had just sat down in a shady spot to eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and my six-year-old granddaughter was just about to take a bite of hers when this vicious (okay, not vicious, but heister) squirrel grabbed the sandwich out of her hands. Staci said: “Mom, you were like a kamikaze, wonder woman, freak of nature, princess warrior, Joan of Arc, going through no man's land and ready to die at the stake for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hell hath no fury like a woman whose grandchild had her sandwich stolen by a squirrel!” Okay. So my daughter embellished that story just a tad, but I remember my first instincts were to let that squirrel know he had messed with the wrong grandmother

As I thought about that hilarious scenario, I started thinking about the enemy of our souls and how he is always trying, and often succeeding, at stealing from us. For example, we woke up this morning with an overwhelming sense of great expectation that something good is going to happen to us this day. But then, the car doesn't start which causes the kids to be late for school and we are late for work AND the extremely important meeting we had to be at on time. That's the heister squirrel, rather the enemy of our souls, endeavoring to steal our joy and great expectations. What about the argument that we had with our spouse or child or friend yesterday? We shouldn't think it was just a random disagreement. It was the enemy trying to steal our peace. Realizing it's the enemy that is endeavoring to steal our joy and peace is the first step in apprehending him before he gets away with it.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). According to these words of Jesus, the thief is out to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in our lives. He wants to steal our job, our joy, our happiness, our health, our finances, our marriage, and our kids. The thief just wants to ruin anything he can get his hands on!

That reminds me of the pickpocket that stole my husband's wallet when we were in Cancun, Mexico. Along with the wallet, his credit cards, money, and identity were stolen, too! We’ve all experienced painful loss of some kind. Imagine we're given the opportunity to not only get back what was lost, but we even get back double for our trouble. Because Jesus came to give us life abundantly, we also find in Scripture that God wants to abundantly restore what we’ve lost. "Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will restore twice as much to you." Zechariah 9:12. Wow! That means I should have gotten two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from that heister squirrel!

Perhaps you’re living in a season when you feel deprived and taken advantage of by the enemy. Maybe you've lost something or someone valuable to you, the least of which is your peace and joy. I assure you, God wants you to live life in all its fullness and give you double for your trouble. Get on the offense against the enemy. Grab those things that the enemy is trying to steal from you or has stolen from you quickly! Grab hold of that scripture in Zechariah and reclaim what has been taken from you. Fight for what is yours with relentless, kamikaze determination!

The Pursuit of God

Pursue: to follow, run after, chase someone or something to catch them

Pursuit: the action of pursuing someone or something.

Yesterday, my word of the day was RESTORE. In studying for this word for today, PURSUIT, two scriptures from Psalm 23 jumped out at me. David, the shepherd boy, before becoming King David, wrote Psalm 23 and in verse 2-3 he said “He (God) makes me lie down in green pastures to RESTORE my soul (my will, my mind and my emotions).” God is wanting us to take a break from PURSUING that promotion or that handsome guy or beautiful girl or that next best thing in technology or the bigger house or high tech car in order to be still and know God first. And in knowing God we will know that He desires us to PURSUE wisdom, understanding, and wholeness in spirit, soul and body. In Psalm 23:6, David makes a declaration of faith: “Surely Your goodness and mercy will PURSUE me (follow me) all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

RESTORATION and PURSUING seem to go hand and hand. David knew about PURSUING. He PURSUED the lion and the bear and was successful, because he had been in the quiet green pastures with His Shepherd. He could take on the distractions with fervor and defeat them. Remember the analogy Jesus gave about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to PURSUE the one that is lost? That Shepherd is Jesus PURSUING you and me.

What if we PURSUED our Good Shepherd? If we did, the distractions and the opposing forces that come to defeat us, would be silenced and rendered "null and void". We would then sing with David "The Lord is MY Shepherd. There is NOTHING that I want." . How can I be effective in the PURSUIT of happiness, joy, peace, freedom from fear and anxiety, lest I be in a place of strength and relentless, fearless and audacious in faith, and wholeness in spirit and mind that can only come from knowing the Good Shepherd.

When I’m out at the stables with my grandson, I notice how those animals PURSUE him. His are the hands that feed them. They trust him for their daily sustenance. They depend on him for their water, their protection from the predators that are out there, and they welcome him with their praises (hee haws by the donkeys, mooing by the longhorn, bleating by the goats and cozying up to him by the dog and cat). Sound familiar? It does if we know what it is to PURSUE God with all of our hearts, trusting in His loving care, and praising Him for breath and life.

"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know Me.” John 10:14

RESTORE – All Things New

My word for today is RESTORE: return (someone or something) to a former condition, place, or position. One of my all-time favorite reality shows is HGTV's "Fixer Upper", not just because I love the hands-on builder and interior designers, Chip & Joanna Gaines, a delightful couple with their four young kids (soon to be five), who live their personal lives in a raw, oftentimes hilarious, and authentic way, but also because I love seeing them RESTORE a dated or dilapidated, hopeless house and property into a gorgeous family home.

We hear about RESTORING a relationship, a house, an old car, and antique furniture. These all demonstrate RESTORATION. No question -- the most beautiful use of the word, is when someone turns from being a lost soul, without hope for today and tomorrow, to becoming a brand new man or woman as they become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. To receive salvation means that we have experienced the miraculous RESTORING power of God Who makes all things new in our lives – spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, and relationally.

AAll throughout the Bible, we see that God is in the RESTORING business. King David made some huge mistakes that really damaged his relationship with God. He needed and received RESTORATION when he prayed in Psalm 51:12 “RESTORE to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” God promises “I will RESTORE you to health and heal your wounds.” (Jeremiah 30:12). Paul the Apostle declares, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold, all things are new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As we surrender our mistakes, failures, problems and challenges to our Master Restorer, our Heavenly Father, in prayer, He will make all things new for us. Our Master RESTORER, will heal our brokenness, RESTORE our lives with His unconditional love and mercy. The scars that came from the hurts and pains of our life's experiences, will be RESTORED to beauty as we place ourselves in the Master RESTORER’S hands -- even more beautiful than we were before. And, even beyond the beauty of the NEW you and me, is helping others to be RESTORED also. They can learn how we, through God's help, were able to turn our scars into stars, our tests became our testimony, our messes became our message to a world that needs RESTORATION so much.

Renewed and Refreshed

Retreat -- To Refresh and Renew
Yesterday, I returned from a 4-day women’s retreat in Chouteau, OK. Being on the Leadership Team and preparing for this retreat meant intentional two-times-a-week meeting and much diligence, focus and preparation by our team to give these women an event that had the potential of tremendously impacting their lives.
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Here’s the best part of the retreat. We unplugged from the world. No watches or phones. No distractions. Just all on-purpose to disconnect from all the busy, fast-paced, hustle and bustle of everyday life. Young moms, single gals, and mature women like me…who came to get away from it all to be on retreat.

What does retreat mean? If we were talking about an army, it could mean to withdraw from enemy forces....throw in the towel, so to speak. Contrary to that definition, for us, it is better defined as withdrawing from the routines of life to refresh, revitalize, and deepen our relationship with each other AND God. It was just beautiful how we stopped focusing on what's outside, to focus on what.....rather, WHO is on the inside.

I felt so connected with God and my sisters. Though we were from many various cultures, seasons of life, and responsibilities, we had one major thing in common, we are ALL daughters of the Most High God and we yearn for more of Him. I'll just betcha' God enjoys retreats as much as we do, especially when the common language is LOVE and hearing “God is good -- all the time. All the time -- God is good.”

Though we went away, "retreat" doesn't have to mean leaving town or going to a quiet setting somewhere. We CAN find rest in our lives and homes ANYWHERE though “being in a quiet place” sounds impossible?

When I typed the words ‘refresh’ and renew’ into my computer's search engine, I got a wide range of results, from instructions on how to refresh my computer's websites, to Dr. Oz’s nutrition ideas, to advertisements for health spas, face cream, and exercise regimes, to air fresheners, and even to a conference.

Here's how we can refresh and renew anytime, anywhere. Isaiah 40:29-31 gives us the assurance that God is involved intimately with our lives. “He gives power to the faint and strength to the powerless. They that wait for the Lord shall RENEW their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” His strength is available to us when we need it, to renew and refresh us. Psalm 119:114 "YOU ARE MY place of quiet RETREAT"

Being on a retreat doesn’t necessarily imply that we leave town and go to a quiet, off-the-beaten path, retreat center. It can mean, right where we are – right now – in the middle of our hectic and frenzied day – we just need to pause to retreat with our Lord who renews, refreshes, restores and even rejuvenates us enough that we can walk and run with new strength and determination.

Where is Your Safe Zone?

With the sun up, I could assess any damages around my place from the violent winds in the thunderstorms and tornadic activity that came through Tulsa on Tuesday night. Except for a lot of petals from my rose bush on the ground, it seemed all was well. Thanks be to God. When I turned on the 6 am news, I was pleased to hear that there were no fatalities but lots of damage around Tulsa and other communities, and power interrupted in a lot of homes.

We Oklahomans are a resilient bunch, even though there has been serious damage and loss of lives many times in the past. We still recover, rebuild and restore. Weather forecasters have certainly helped us prepare and be on alert for those nasty funnels. My father and mother-in-law lost their home years ago from a tornado, yet, as Mom and I discussed yesterday, that damage opened the door for them to move to the home Mom still lives in and loves today. We take the bumps and bruises....and turn it into something good.

In fact, many make light of tornadoes. A friend posted: "What do Oklahomans do when they hear a tornado siren?" "They go outside, set out their lawn chair and watch the show." Another of my friends, who moved from California three years ago, loves everything about Oklahoma. In fact, she takes tornado activity with a grain of salt, or rather a color of her hair. She posted Tuesday night: "Tornado sirens going off...not a good time to be coloring my hair." Another friend replied to her post: "Note to self: 'Next time storms are expected, don't even think about coloring my hair. You're not in California anymore, Toto!" LOL!

My neighbor texted me that she had extra space in her "safe room" in case I'd like to join her. But, with the sirens sounding off for about an hour, I made the closet in my laundry room my "safe room". But who am I kidding? That little spot wouldn't provide safety in the horrendous winds of a tornado except for God's protecting hand. Mom reminded me yesterday that all the roof was gone when the tornado hit their home years ago.....except for the patch where Mom and Dad were holding up in a central shower stall. They were in the "shelter of the Most High".

Whether it's a wild storm outside or a wild storm inside me, here's what I pray and speak: Psalm 91:1 (my 911 emergency number) "I dwell in the secret place of the Most High. I abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of You, Lord, You are my fortress, my deliverer, my God in Whom I trust." I also quote and pray Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

What's YOUR safety zone? Mine is the solid rock of Christ. When I need a shelter, when I need a friend....I go to THE ROCK!

The Master Musician & Master Craftsman = Restoration of Things....and People

"Before & After" photos of a very used, scratched and abused piano bench -- the accompanying piece to the baby grand piano that my grandson had been praying for. Neither piece is new, but when Payton plays it, it sounds like a Steinway -- at least in this Nana's ears. And his Mom restored the piano to beautiful condition and it has a prominent place now in the Wallace Family home.

But, that poor piano bench looked beyond hope. Staci's plans were to go out yesterday and buy a new bench, but, I told her we could "restore" that damaged and pitiful bench to look brand new. We set out to buy some foam, fabric, paint, and stapler gun, and whoa la -- in just a little while -- that's what you see here.

The piano looks and sounds great, and its bench looks great, too. It just took the touch of a musician and the craftsmanship of two "crafty" women!
That makes me think of those of us who had been used, abused, or unused and neglected -- forgotten and beyond hope. But then along came the Master Musician and made a beautiful symphony of our lives.....and He restored us and turned all our brokenness into something of beauty. And, better than just "restored".....we were made to be BRAND NEW. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

This beautiful "Gaither" song explains it perfectly:

And He made something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion, He understood,
All I had to offer Him, was brokenness and strife,
But He made something -- beautiful of my life.