Soaring Above it All

I saw this photo on a friend's FB post about her recent vacation. Right away a blog started forming in my head. Her FB comment was: “Oh, today, let’s be adventurers! Feel the wind and fly.” Obviously, she and her husband took her words to action. I commented on her post: "I love that! I sense that’s a word from God telling us to rise above anything that is keeping us earthbound. He will carry us above all as we place our trust in Him. God gives us wings as eagles to fly and strength to rise above it all. When our feet begin to stumble and our dreams begin to crumble, we mount up on eagle’s wings. Instead of doubt and fear, we get adventurous!! Count me in!"

Their adventure reminded me of my parasailing two years ago while in Zihuatanejo, Mexico for my son’s birthday celebration (2nd photo here). It looked like a cinch to me to be strapped into the harness and take to soaring behind the boat. But, I missed an important detail: “Sit back in the harness.” I didn’t and for the entire experience, I prayed and held on for dear life hoping I wouldn’t fall out of it. It felt so loose. I wouldn’t have fallen out, but still my mind wasn’t on soaring but staying locked in.” Indeed, it was an adventure for me.

No matter whether we’re walking on water with Peter (yesterday’s blog), earthbound and never flying in an airplane or a para-sail or jumping from an airplane in a parachute – there is no 100% guarantee that we will arrive safely to our destination. We don't know the equipment, the pilots and, as trained and skilled as they are, they just can't predict everything. Then what about the potential wackiness of other passengers on an airplane? With bombs found in shoes and bags, everyone is suspect when boarding a plane. The reality is that many things can go wrong and, despite the airline's stellar track record, and parachutes and para-sails working properly -- history has proven that bad things can happen.

Still, I fly. Still I para-sail. Still I raise my hand “Pick me!” when offered an adventure. And, the same is true about my faith. Like that enormous aircraft getting off the ground -- my faith even defies human logic. We are told our Savior is one who died, then came back to life. How can that be possible? But I BELIEVE. We're asked to trust God Who we can’t even see. But when we do, and we put our lives in His hands and have faith that His flight plan is the best course for us, we arrive safely at our faith destination -- fulfilling our destiny and purpose.

We were handcrafted by our Creator to soar far above this earth, going to places that would be impossible to go under our own power and doing things we never imagined. If we let go of inhibitions and fears, we can expect a faith journey of soaring high above this earth's worries and concerns, and, He guarantees 100% ON-TIME arrival! WOW! That's a record that can't be beat! Come, fly with me!

It’s Not Over Till I Win

Out of some pretty tough circumstances, my daughter wrote and recorded a song entitled "It's Not Over Till I Win". The chorus of the song goes like this: "I'm not givin' up. I'm not givin' in. I've got to keep believing. It's not over till I win! I'm not givin' up! I'm not givin' in. I've gotta keep on pressing on. Cause it's not over till I win." It was also the theme of her ministry events. Challenges didn't stop her. She simply pulled herself up by the bootstraps and declared "It's not over till I win!" I was cleaning out my closet yesterday and I found the t-shirt we wore that embraced the message. It resonated with me because I was thinking about a strong young woman and her mom who I follow daily on FB; both of whom have been dealt some tough hands, but watching them navigate through the maze of daily obstacles, has been both an inspiration and the model for which I choose to live my life. I believe Morgan's "never quit" attitude is the "It's Not Over Till I Win" attitude.

Precious 25-year-old Morgan Watson had a relapse in June of leukemia that was almost debilitating from 2009 to 2015, but after 6 years of treatment and non-stop battling the disease, she was declared in remission in 2015. We can only imagine the heartbreak, disappointment and the potential discouragement that could have been hers, and her family. But from June to today, their journey has been quite to the contrary. Oh yes, there have been insurmountable challenges and setbacks, but I have watched Morgan and her mom, Salina Watson, be bright lights in the darkness. They have had so many reasons to throw in the towel and quit, but instead, they have celebrated life in such remarkable ways. They are the encouragers to us as they give positive quotes and messages to inspire us to be better, to think better, to live our lives better. This is an example of one of Salina’s posts:

“As I sat looking through my pictures this evening, I came across the one below. I took it last week while Morgan was still in the hospital, prior to her having a lumbar puncture, and having chemo administered into her spine. At first glance, you wouldn’t know that she had been given news of a relapse 2 weeks prior and that she would be having a procedure minutes later. Why? Because her attitude and facial expression were not a typical response that one would expect from someone on the same path. You see, the truth is, we do not always have a choice in our circumstances, but we do get to choose how we will respond to it. Inevitably, our response will determine our outcome. Our world can be falling apart, yet we can choose to take the high road and embrace it with a smile, knowing that we are better for it. Morgan understands this and sets a perfect example for each one of us on any given day. My hope is that by sharing this, you too will begin to see challenges a little differently, and find a way to embrace them with a 😊.”
Maybe, today, you feel like you have every reason in the world to quit. Don’t!! Just look around at those who have so much more reason than you do to quit -- but they don't. They soar, and people who soar, are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain about 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!

And what was that I heard people say about quitting? "I can't because ........" 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!" We can! So let's just DO IT! "It's Not Over Till You Win!"

EXCEL – The Attitude AND the Spreadsheet

EXCEL in 2016

 Home sweet home after 22 days in Texas and Washington over the Christmas holidays.  Precious times away, and excited now to EXCEL in 2016.  

Those incredible 22 days were topped off, yesterday, when many of our Unstoppable Summit attendees went to Elevate Life Church to worship and praise God together.  And to hear a message by Pastor Keith Craft entitled "EXCEL" only provided the icing on the delicious "cake" we'd experienced all weekend at the summit.  In 2 Corinthians 8:1-11, the Apostle Paul was speaking about the folks in the Macedonian churches and in verse 2 said " In the midst of very SEVERE TRIALS, they had OVERFLOWING JOY and their EXTREME POVERTY welled up in RICH GENEROSITY."  Did you get that?  They were experiencing severe trials, but had overflowing joy.  They lived in extreme poverty but were richly generous.

And, then in verse 7, he encourages the Corinthians by saying "Since you EXCEL in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also EXCEL in this grace of giving."  WOW -- did those words ever pack a punch!  God is impressed when we have overflowing joy in the middle of trials and He's even more impressed when we're generous during times of lack.  Pastor Keith said, "EXCEL means to soar -- surpass limitations".  I reached up and grabbed that word as I heard this message.  I desire to soar, surpass limitations and, as Paul mentioned, "EXCEL in everything" -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and above all, in the grace of giving this year.

Giving comes in so many forms:  a hug, a smile, an encouraging word, a compliment, time, treasure, and a host of other ways to EXCEL in the grace of giving.   I'm going to be "in the moment" and "on the lookout" for ways to EXCEL by being an extravagant GIVER this year.

"Powered by Relationships" has been our tag line for over three years now -- and as I think about the power we receive in our relationship with God, as well as His beautiful people like those who joined us in the summit this weekend, I expect EXCELLING to be the norm.    I loved being able to share my heart with these precious people yesterday afternoon, and they shared their love and heart right back to me.  We were EXCELLING.   Indeed we had an empowerment weekend that surely fueled us for a beautiful and blessed year to come -- a year of continual EXCELLING.  Let's EXCEL together as we truly become extravagant GIVERS this year!

Break Free of That Cocoon

I’ve been through some painful seasons when it felt like God had a deaf ear to my heart cries. The seasons of financial concerns, children’s illnesses, broken relationships, disappointments, family deaths – including, my own precious husband’s passing. I was in the cocoon during those times – going through what seemed to be, personal death, but, God was using those seasons to instill in me, hope, trust and belief that He was in control, and that He was creating a butterfly that could soar further and higher than I could have imagined. It was in those dark seasons that my faith grew stronger and stronger. And, I assure you, I have broken free from the cocoon and I am flying today. No question -- the cocoon WAS painful. But were it not for the transition and change, I would have never known the joy, freedom and beauty of flying to such heights today. To be able to dance in the rain, to celebrate each new day with the wonderment of a child, to laugh at myself, to look in the mirror and see LIFE being lived to its fullest is wonderful. Winter and living in the cocoon was yesterday, but Springtime has come -- and my new life as a butterfly was worth the stillness and death and preparation. Isn't it time for you to break free of your cocoon, too? The vantage point from up here to down there as a caterpillar, sure does make a difference!! "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy." Psalms 30:11

I Believe I Can Fly -- Come Fly With Me!

God really wants us to fly! He wants us to fly free of yesterday's fears, guilt, disappointments and frustrations. He wants us to fly free of today's anxieties. He wants us to fly free of tomorrow's concerns. God moves mountains and He promises to answer our prayers. That's what He promises in Matthew 21:24 "If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer!" So come fly with me....above the earth-bound circumstances, and let's soar with the eagles to that place of great hope and live with the expectation that "Something good is about to happen to me today!"