Happy Mother’s Day to the Sisterhood!

And that is YOU even if you’ve never borne down in the battle cry of birth or not! Of course, I honor my own precious mother today because if it weren’t for her – I wouldn’t be and neither would these children and grandchildren of mine. The best of me came from her. I thank God for that precious saint that I’ll throw my arms around one day and thank her again and again for giving me -- ME!

I believe that all of us are called to mother another – whether we call it mothering or not. We mother because we’re called to it. We are the ones who reach out to a struggling sister, child, college student, teenager, grandmother or couple. We mother the one who shows up at our doorstep to hear a positive word that she can make it one more day of home-schooling her children. We mother whether we’re married or not, and have a slew of kids or not.

We mother because we can’t not mother. We can't help ourselves, because there is a friend who has been hurt and needs a soft, safe place to land. We mother because we’ve watched our mothers make TLC soup for the sick. We mother because the older woman at the mall locked her keys in her car and we call for help for her and we wait and encourage her until help comes (true story). Because, we mother.

We love with genuine affection in our hearts. We delight in honoring each other. We give ourselves away — little bits and pieces of who we are, of our courage, of our deep faith, of our hope and peace. We bear down and we find ways to bring life to people desperate for air. Because it’s what we do – we mother.

Every single woman who loves, sacrifices, encourages, tends, cares, raises, praises, shapes, forms, nurtures, and cheers on others, no matter how you came to be connected with them, is doing an amazing, mothering work. And today -- as we celebrate our earthly (or heavenly) mothers, we celebrate you, too.

I honor you, believe in you and champion you! Happy Mother’s Day to my Sisterhood! Thank you for all you are and all you do!

“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:10)

She Needed a Hero So She Became One

A dear friend who is going through some really tough times sent me a private message after I had said to her “You are your own hero -- you + God = courageous and strong, mighty woman of God!” She replied: Is that ok, to be your own hero?” The following helps explain my response to her:.

If ever we needed our sisterhood, we need it today. To have friends that encourage us, cry with us, rejoice with us and pray for us is worth more than silver and gold. I do that a lot on Facebook. When I see friends’ photos of their child’s wedding, I rejoice with them. I celebrate with my friends when they celebrate the accomplishments of their family – the school wins, graduations, awards, baby births, and anniversaries. I also love it when friends are bold enough to ask for prayer.

This photo says “She Needed a Hero, So She Became One!” I’m so proud of my friends and those women I don’t know, who aspire to be strong, resilient, determined, tenacious women and who say “I can do this. I can survive this. I am an overcomer. I am powerful – not because of my own abilities and my own self-talk – but I am powerful because the Greater One lives in me. (1 John 4:4) I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)”

I learned very quickly, after I became a widow, that I had a choice to make. I could whine and I could wallow in self-pity because I didn’t have my hero to lean on or give me advice on important decisions, or to repair something around the house. I could have thought “I need a hero to see after me!” If I stayed in that mindset, I would have never realized all I could do on my own. Now I know I am a woman of wisdom. I daily purpose to be powerful, passionate, positive, and, above all – peaceful. Rarely do I call out for help from anyone, but I also know my limitations. So when my daughter asked what I’d like for my birthday and since they live nearby, I was quick to say “Coupons for around-the-house jobs” (see photo). And, that's what they gave me. Yay!! I'll definitely use those coupons!

Honestly, there are times I think about how awesome it would be to have a hero again who I could go to for support and who would give me that extra hug, soothe my troubled soul, and boost me up with encouragement and compliments. But, I know I have God Who is more than enough. He is faithful to me. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Psalm 68:5. He lifts me up with His love. I may be alone, but I’m not lonely. He is for me and encourages me daily with His Word.

Still, there are times when it's up to ME to set me free. It's up to me to apply the band-aids to my body and my spirit. It's up to me to change the channel of "pitiful me" to "powerful me". It's up to me to do what King David did. "When King David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." 1 Samuel 30:6

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother or mother or friend and it’s ME. I never leave me. I never forsake me. I don’t EVER let me beat ME up and I don't let me pity me. I put on my armor, pick up my sword and raise it high. I have come to realize I am my own HERO. Yes…..there are times when we need a HERO......and that's when it's up to us to BECOME ONE

We Stood on Holy Ground

Having spent the last 4 days at Camp Copass in Denton, TX with 79 beautiful “sisters in Christ” and experiencing God's peace in this away-from-it-all location, was what God ordered for us. I knew we were on HOLY GROUND when we arrived at the campus and this sign welcomed us: SHOW ME YOUR WAYS O LORD, Psalm 25:4. That is why we went there in the first place.

My word for today is: Holy Ground -- sacred grounds or areas; it is not necessarily that the ground, itself, is holy, rather, it is the presence of the Holy God that makes it holy.

That is why we went to Camp Copass – to be in the presence of our Holy God and come to know His ways even more. Finding ourselves in many occasions to see AND hear God’s ways enveloped us in His tangible love through “sisterhood”.

We often sign our emails or other notes as YSIC. One of the retreatants asked "What does YSIC mean?" It means "Your Sister in Christ". After all we are God's daughters and when His daughters get together, we are Sisters in Christ. We were single and married, young mothers and more mature mothers -- all living with daily opportunities to face conflict AND noise, who needed a break and refreshing, -- from careers, family dynamics, attending school, raising children, health, relational, and financial challenges, etc. And, in this place of quiet and stillness, we had the incredible opportunity to refresh, restore, and rejuvenate.

Serving as a one of the 39 team members and preparing for this retreat meant weekly meetings for 3-1/2 months , plus much study and prayer, and diligence to give those 40 retreatants a HOLY GROUND experience that had the potential of tremendously impacting their lives. Every time we met, we knew we were on HOLY GROUND, as we fellowshipped, prayed for each other and for the retreatants. Our Mission was accomplished – based on the many testimonies of those precious women who left this weekend transformed.

Here’s the best part of the retreat. We disconnected from the busy, fast-paced, hustle and bustle of everyday life. What does retreat mean? With an army, it means to withdraw from enemy forces, and maybe that army looks like the forces the enemy of our soul uses when we’re stressed, overloaded, under-appreciated, and facing fears and challenges. For us, “retreat” is better defined as withdrawing from the routines of life to go to a place of refreshment and revitalization, being able to rekindle and deepen our relationship with God. We get to leave behind usual distractions we all face, to have our faith deepened. as we look inward to the HOLY GROUNDS of God in our lives.

Before I left this HOLY GROUND yesterday morning, I took the time to drive around the campus and capture photos of this camp’s “rules for success”, God’s tools from His toolbox (His Word) and His faithful promises to us. Wherever we are – not just at a camp where the signs appear, but anywhere we will be standing on HOLY GROUND – because He is Emmanuel – God with us – and where He is, holy. Our homes, our places of work, our children’s school, the grocery store and the gas station. All are places where the Spirit of God is, because we show up at all those places – and, then, SO DOES HE! In our hearts and minds, we can "check-out" of the routine and experience HOLY GROUNDS -- any time and in any place. He'll meet us there. I KNOW! I'm there right now!

She Needed a Hero So She Became One

The recent indiscretions of high profile men has been the topic of conversation lately. The good news is that women are “coming out of the closet” to reveal their stories that were hidden for years, for fear of loss of job or other consequences. They are stepping up to, hopefully, help other women stand up for making wrongs right. This post isn’t to express my opinion “on the news”, but it is to speak out on behalf of “sisterhood”.

Sisters, if ever we need our sisterhood, we need it today. To have friends that encourage us, cry with us, rejoice with us and pray for us is worth more than silver and gold. I do that a lot on Facebook. When I see friends’ photos of their child’s wedding, I rejoice with them. I celebrate with my friends when they celebrate the accomplishments of their family – the school wins, the graduations, the awards, birth of babies, and I also love it when friends are bold enough to ask for prayer. then I pray with them.

This photo says “She Needed a Hero, So She Became One!” I’m so proud of my friends, and even those women I don’t know, who aspire to being strong, resilient, determined, tenacious women and who say “I can do this. I can survive this. I am an overcomer. I am powerful – not because of my own abilities and my own self-talk – but I am powerful because the Greater One lives in me. (1 John 4:4) I am more than a conqueror.(Romans 8:37) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)”

I learned very quickly, after I became a widow, that I had a choice to make. I could whine and I could wallow in self-pity because I didn’t have MY HERO to lean on or give me advice on important decisions, or to repair something around the house. I could have thought “I need a HERO to see after me!” If I stayed in that mindset, I would have never realized all I could accomplish, on my own. Now I know I am a wonder woman with wisdom and I will be powerful, passionate, positive, and, above all – peaceful. Rarely do I call out for help from anyone, but I also know my limitations. For example, I needed help pulling down that heavy, high attic door in my garage to bring down my Christmas decorations. I knew I needed some “man-power” to lift those heavy boxes and bring them down for me. Fortunately, both of my sons and grandson were my heroes on the day after Thanksgiving.

Honestly, there really are times I think about how awesome it would be to have a HERO again, like I once did, who I could go to for support and who would give me that extra hug, soothe my troubled soul, and boost me up with encouragement and compliments. But, I know I have God Who is more than enough. He is faithful to me. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Psalm 68:5. He lifts me up with His love. I may be alone, but I’m not lonely. He is for me and encourages me daily with His Word

Still, there are times when, it's up to ME to set ME free. It's up to me to apply the band-aids to my body and my spirit. It's up to me to change the channel of "pitiful me" to "powerful me". It's up to me to do what King David did. "When King David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, David ENCOURAGED himself n the LORD his God." 1 Samuel 30:6

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother or mother or FRIEND and it’s ME. I never leave me. I never forsake me. I don’t EVER let ME beat ME up and I don't let me pity me. I put on my armor, pick up my sword and raise it high. I have come to realize I am my own HERO.

Yes…..there are times when we need a HERO......and that's when it's up to us to BECOME ONE! Excuse me, I most end this post, because I need to get my 6' ladder out to repair my garage door opener!