The Only Story You'll Regret is the One Left Untold

I have little time to scroll through my FB timeline, but when I do, I often get a bright idea for my next blog. I saw a post a few days ago and it inspired me to keep telling stories of my past. Even though my listeners and readers may yawn at yet another one of my Mom or Nana stories, I know they might remember that story and pass it on to their kiddos one day. There are many things I would do over in a better way, if I could, but I can't so I won't live in regret. No “what if’s”, “if onlys” – because that’s no way of living. What I do on-purpose to plant seeds and cultivate them is what matters today. See if this friend's FB post gives you some bright ideas too!

“I’ve encountered the worst, most horrible, awful aspect of cleaning out my dad’s house, which belonged to my grandparents before him: we have lost all the stories. I was my dad’s only child, and he was my grandparents’ only child. My dad’s death was unexpected, so I never got the full data dump of family stories from him, especially as it relates to our heirlooms.
I encounter one object after another that is very old, that I know has deep meaning to my family, but I don’t know details. Which clock is the one that was a wedding gift to my great-great grandparents? Whom did this 1892 Bible belong to? What were the items brought to Texas by covered wagon by my ancestors in the 1850s? My dad knew. Now, he’s gone. There is no one left to ask. I will never know. The stories died with him.

Never has the power of "stories" been more apparent to me than today. It’s reminded me of why I defend people sharing their lives on social media, even if it means we’re walking around taking selfies all the time. When someone is photographing or videoing their lives, it’s not usually because they’re vain or addicted to their phone. It’s because they want to share. They have a story to tell and they want someone to hear it.

As someone who is reeling from the loss of stories, I want to encourage you to be bolder in sharing your own. Let us laugh with you when you can’t find your car in the parking lot. Tell us why you ate that one sandwich for lunch. Vent about how you’re really feeling today. As I sit in my family’s house, surrounded by objects full of secrets I’ll never know, I can promise you the only story you’ll regret is the one that doesn’t get told.”

So, tell those stories, dear friends! Let those youngsters know about walking to school in knee-deep snow (that’s for my Canadian family) – my mother-in-law tells those stories. Tell us how you came to know Jesus.Tell us how He made a difference in your life. Tell us about how you nearly gave up -- but God. Tell us about that vase and where it came from. I love that my mother-in-law labels every item that is given to her by a putting piece of masking tape under that item with a name and date.

I talk a lot about my precious husband -- on purpose. My two youngest grands wouldn't typically remember too much about him, but they do because we keep Papa in the present in our conversations and with photos.

So – with this blog today, I’m reaching out to touch you with an S.O.S.! Don’t take chances that you’ll have your loved ones with you forever or that YOU will be on this side of heaven forever! Ask them about their lives – I mean REALLY delve into WHO they were and what their memories were all about. And, you, start telling YOUR story. I promise you – you will be so glad you did – if not today – someday, when you wish you had!

Just a Jesus Follower

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
-- The Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 11:1)

I was one of those non-conversational, shy, withdrawn, and lacking self-confidence, kind-of-girl. I had big faith, but little output. I kept my faith to myself. The main reason? The fear of rejection. Sure, I’d invite friends to church with me, but I’d leave the Jesus-talk to the minister. I knew the “Good News” of Jesus, but I was afraid to share it. I worried my friends would reject me because they thought I was a Jesus fanatic.

I overcame those fears when I got me out of my “first place” priority and moved God up to "Numero Uno"! That helped me understand my place in God’s family and allowed me to view the opinions of others with an eternal perspective. That eternal perspective of being a leader who others follow right on to eternity with me!

I’m quite in-your-face when it comes to my blogging. I know it. You don’t have to tell me. I don’t want to impress you, but I do want to impress upon my followers that FIRST PLACE priority. My point isn’t to get more followers. I am just a follower of Jesus. I am just a gal who found out where the living water is and I am trying to share it with others. I am not the source of it, Jesus is. Follow Him.

I just want to write and to share out of the abundance of the life-giving water He gives me every day. I lean on the well and even hang out at the well. I try not to wander too far off from it. I know my track record and I don’t like the feeling of being so thirsty, lacking hope and joy, when I meander away from the well. I will tell you a secret. I don’t know all of the 4,193 friends on my Facebook page. And, all of them don’t really know me. I pray they are following me because they met Jesus face to face in something I blogged about. I am so thankful for that because it is the reason I began blogging in the first place.

It’s time to let God get the glory from what we do and what we say. It is so worthless to rant and rave about things that don't matter in the light of eternity. It is so worthwhile to spread the Good News that has a pay-off of eternal proportions. It’s time to Follow Him so He can say about us: “Hey, you know her/him. She/he started this blog/social media ministry, and now I HAVE ____ followers. Well done good and faithful servant.”

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19) We are meant to catch them and teach them to follow Him not us. It is important to get the message out there, but it shouldn’t be our focus. He is our focus, and our message just keeps getting clearer and clearer!

Little Bands of Women are EVERYWHERE!

Payton, my 16-year-old grandson, is going on a missions trip to Guatemala in June, so in efforts to raise the monies to go, he posted in a neighborhood community app that he would do odd jobs for people. So when a lady called and asked him to get some things down from her attic, as well as to put together some boxes for her upcoming move, he earned some nice cash to put towards his trip. When she mentioned that she was going to have an estate sale, he told her about his Nana who once had an estate sale business. She wanted to meet me so Payton called and asked me to come over. I did. We had several things in common. She was moving to the same community where I'll be moving to in a few weeks, she has a Buick Enclave – just like me….and she loves the Lord – just like me. She invited me to her home for her Life Group for single women that meets every Saturday night. Once again, I sensed God smiling at me and throwing me a kiss!

I attended that Life Group last night where 18 women came together for a great pot luck (blessing) meal and then we sat in a big circle and each of us had the opportunity to share a praise report or request prayer for something or someone, or both. There was much laughter, tears of gratitude and tears of heartfelt desire for God to intervene in areas of their lives, and sweet support on so many levels. When it came around to me, I told the ladies that I’m looking up to heaven and saying “Thanks God, because I know it was You that brought me here tonight! He showed me that He has little bands of women everywhere, just like when Jesus walked this earth, He always had a band of women that loved and served Him. God must be smiling big and sending lots of kisses to this group!” Like my home in Tulsa where the precious sisters in my Life Group met, this home, last night, was a safe place and you could tell all of these women were fully devoted followers of Christ who live believing there are NO LIMITS to what God can do in and through us.

In so many places in this world, women are so marginalized and ostracized – simply because they are women. If only our world used the example of Jesus and how He loved and respected us. He really "upset the apple cart" in His culture in the way He related to women. In Luke 8 we see there was a band of women followers who traveled with Jesus and His 12 motley crew of men disciples as He ministered all around Galilee. Those women came from all walks of life, they were single, married, and some had questionable backgrounds, but here’s the common thread – each of them experienced healing through their encounter with Christ. He loved them, taught them and could have cared less about what the pious religious folk thought.

The little bands of women that Jesus touched and loved is a mighty indicator of His love for us. The women at the foot of the cross and at the tomb held a tiny flame of faith that He would rise as He promised. That flame of faith may have burned high, and it may have burned low, but the flame never went out, and their faith was rewarded. Like the women of the Bible, our flame of faith may burn high and it may burn low, but our flame never goes out and because we have faith in His Word that “nothing is impossible with Him”, He rewards us.
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God didn’t waste any time showing me that He is leading me every step of the way on my journey of faith. I’ve said it before, “If you want to have friends, show yourself friendly.” It took getting out of my comfort zone to go to that Life Group last night. I didn’t know those ladies – even the gal that invited me except for a simple conversation a couple of weeks ago. If we want friends, it means we just might have to be willing to get out of our comfort zone. We may find it by joining a community group or small group at our church. We may want to volunteer to facilitate a Bible Study or join a Sunday School Class or a Choir or another group where they're living a life of purpose and destiny. As we trust God with every area of our lives, He will open doors of blessing to us. Perhaps there's a little band of women OR, if you're a man or a couple, a band of believers who are just waiting for you to show up and be a blessing to you, and you, to them.

Krispy Kreme Memories -- Before and After Technology

As I read that Krispy Kreme celebrated its 77th birthday last Friday, I had a "blast from the past" moment, thinking about my grandkids enjoying those hot and yummy donuts. It was a sweet visual of them watching them being made, their eyes sparkling and lips watering, when the store clerk would give them a free one.

A lot has changed since Vernon Rudolph began selling his doughnuts to local grocery stores in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Now there are stores in 500 locations and they even offer a "Hot Light App" which alerts customers' cell phones when their doughnuts are hot. Wow, it's amazing how the technological revolution has transformed our lives!

Phone apps and social media have given us many ways to share what's going on in our little corner of the world. It has changed the way we make memories....and now we can share those memories quickly with others. Once upon a time, we'd put film in our cameras, take the photos, take the film to the store to be developed, then put the photos in an album to share at the next family gathering. Now we simply take a photo with our mobile phone, then we immediately "SHARE" it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter -- and in just moments, our family and friends have entered into our world of memories, made just moments before.

Whether you have distant memories like the ones I've shared here: (photos made from a camera's film): my Payton & Alexia enjoying Krispy Kreme donuts that we took them in Texas (now Payton & Alexia are 14 & 12); Brennan (now 10) with his Great Granny having a Krispy Kreme "tea party", or memories you're making today -- cherish them -- celebrate today's moments so that tomorrow you can be thankful that you "stopped and smelled the roses".....or, rather you "stopped to enjoy a yummy donut"!!

Be That Water Bottle -- Gaining Momentum

Two years ago this month, I joined Solavei -- (this photo is from the June, 2012 pre-launch event -- about 156 of us were there -- now there are over 400,000 of us). Like thousands of other Solavei members, I am a hard-working, fully-branded and ALL-IN Solavei member -- not because of my kids, but because of what we started out to do -- making a difference in millions of people's lives -- and that's what we're doing. My network of thousands is by the process of just sharing this great opportunity with others, because I care! There have been no special favors (well, I do get to hang a little more than some with Ryan and Staci and families -- not because of Solavei, but after all, I am their Mama -- LOL) and no handouts to me. I have simply followed the easy process of sharing like a great movie or restaurant, and replicated what other leaders were doing. I am beyond thrilled for those who enjoy a lower phone bill, and some even FREE mobile service because they shared Solavei with one, two or just a few people. That, of itself is HUGE!

But most importantly, I want to share with you WHO I am and WHY I am proud to represent this company and all it stands for. I have to add here that I've had a lot of major crises in my life -- none greater than when my sweetheart graduated to heaven. But, that early passing created a determination and quest for taking that major blow and optimize my assignment on this earth. No matter what has come our way, the last thing our family is prone to do is gnash our teeth and wail about the unfairness of life. On the contrary, we determine to not only approach any conundrum that may come our way with a can-do attitude, but we look at the problem as a chance to gain new experiences and opportunities. We may be momentarily daunted by challenges that come our way, but we typically take it all in and realize -- it may look like a setback, but we are quick to realize "we're getting prepared for a MAJOR comeback!"

Ryan has always shared about how Solavei is like an empty plastic bottle and if you throw it into a stream of white water rapids, it naturally flows down the river with great momentum! That's enough for me to continue blazing the trail, touching more people's lives, and thanking God everyday -- that I have more today in my budget than before Solavei.

And, I'm still on a roll. I have no reason to stop what I have been doing for over two years now. I have been sharing this dream, this vision and this opportunity from the beginning. And, believe me, the systems in place, the resources, the offering, the experience, the determination and the support have never been better than today. What if this is that -- that could radically change millions of people's lives? Why would I stop now? I'm just saying.... "Let's continue to be that water bottle, gaining momentum in our lives -- no stopping now! Let's go stronger than ever before. I promise you....we'll look back on these days and be so glad we did.......and not wish we had!"
#WinningBigWithSolavei