Road Warrior Widow Tips for Living with No Regrets

Phew! I gasp even as I type this blog today. My sweet ride (my trusty 2010 Buick Enclave – now at 130,000 miles) has been road tested to the nth degree over the last few weeks. Up to Tulsa for a funeral, back to Tulsa for another funeral, down to South Texas for two funerals, down to Austin to catch my grandson’s football game, back to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry of Texas vs Oklahoma and back to Frisco for a few days only to go back to Austin next week. People are amazed at my adventurous take-to-the-road spirit. I call myself a road warrior. I refuse to be bound by fear or concern. Goodness, how stale I could get if I just hung out at home all the time.

I was amused when my best friend called and asked “Where are you now?” I have to even ask myself that question when I wake up some mornings and I have to double-check to see what bed I’m in now. Some of my friends express amazement that I could be so brave to travel like I do – but it’s common-place for me. Just in case you may want to venture out and take to the road and be a road warrior, too, here are some of my “road warrior” tips.

~ #1 – I make sure my car is road worthy – tires’ air pressure where they need to be; being sure my car is serviced properly (oil changes and other fluids intact); being sure my AAA road service is up to date just in case of a towing need (I pray for my sweet ride and thank God for it every time I get behind the wheel!)
~ #2 -- I pack up my little food basket with all kinds of munchies -- nuts, fruits, pop-corn, crackers, and a big mug of iced water or tea, plus another mug of coffee. All of that “fuel” intake for the road helps keep me wide awake. I even make a plan for a little treat along the way – like a small, chocolate dipped ice cream cone from Dairy Queen or a pit stop at a rest area or truck stop to stretch or to grab my pillow and shut my eyes for 10 minutes or so. That’s all it takes to refresh and keep going.
~ #3 – I make sure I have great music to praise the Lord to or tap my fingers to and sing along with. Another road warrior stay-awake tip is listening to audiobooks – my favs are fiction Christian romance (I’m a hopeless romantic) or Christian action audiobooks. They keep me awake with anticipation about what’s going to happen next.
~ #4 – One of my favorite road warrior tips is to keep my eyes, ears and heart open in case God gives me a little nudge about what my next blog might be about. When that happens, I tap my cell phone voice memo button and record what that message might be.

The attached photos are from recent road trips and family outings. Brennan attends Regents School of Austin. I just had to see him play on Thursday. He is #7 and an amazing receiver. I loved seeing his team praying together after the game. The next day it was back to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry of Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns. We were blessed with an amazing Longhorn family’s generosity to the eight of us! So no problem sitting with Longhorn fans. Our family may live in Texas but Oklahoma is in our hearts. Great family fun cheering our Sooners on to victory! Boomer Soone!

~ #5 -- My last road warrior tip is not just on the road but in every place and every season of life, this widow warrior has come to “live on the edge with accepting the thrills that await me – taking on opportunities to share the love, embrace the precious people in my life and be fully confident in my trust in God”. He becomes our safety and our security. Because of Him, we can risk living life to the fullest and be all that we were created to be. He keeps us secure, even though life is often insecure, even though we get disappointed, even though the bottom falls out. We embrace the highs and we wait patiently for the lessons learned in the lows. Really – THAT is my #1 and most highly recommended Road and Life Warrior tip – for God to be your Road and Life security and ultimate confidence, too!

“For the Lord will be your confidence…” - Proverbs 3:26

We’ve Arrived….Well, Maybe Not!

I think back on my life and the times I thought I had “arrived”. I had a boyfriend at last! I’ve arrived! I graduated from high school. I’ve arrived. I landed a great job. I've arrived! I got married. I’ve arrived. I had a baby --- then, two babies! I’ve arrived. In reality, those were never arrivals. They were simply journeys that still continue – even to today.

Once upon a time, I thought being a Christian was a “you’ve arrived kind of thing.” The truth is: I haven't arrived. I am still in great need of my Savior. I must lean on him...24/7. Sometimes I'd like to retreat -- even for a 10-minute nap! To say it’s often a battle puts it mildly. But the crazy good news is this – the battle is good. Good for us. It makes us warriors.

God has the game plan and assures us of a win....eventually. So I’ve come to be okay with the battle. We often get "bruised and battered" in the combat, but the battle makes us wiser and more aware of the same old schemes and tactics of the enemy of our souls. We get stronger. He gets dumber. He is such a loser.

The truth is our faith journey isn’t about arriving. It is about carrying on. We "pick up our cross and follow Jesus" -- no turning back. Our journey is about grabbing hold of the hem of Jesus’ garment and hanging on for dear life. And while we're holding on, we trust that the enemy is waving the white flag of surrender and shouting "CEASE FIRE"! But we don't cease fire. We are in it to win it and no doubt we will because the Lord is with us as a mighty warrior (Jeremiah 20:11).

I've had my times on the battlefield. I assure you -- all the battle scars turn into our testimony. People hear our story and are often star-struck at God in us. We point heavenward because you and I both know, it is a miracle that we’re still here and we’re still standing -- because of God's amazing grace!

This faith ride that we’re on isn’t a one-time ticket where we can say “I’ve arrived!” it is a continual commute. It is a consistent day-by-day, in the trenches of life, even being engaged in an ongoing battle that must be fought minute-by-minute. We are in the middle of it each day and we will not surrender. We will not give up because, in God’s sight and His all-knowing end of the story – we win. It all counts. It is all worth it. God sees. The celebrations will begin when we step over to the other side and it all will be worth it. In the meantime.....we suit up, show up and FORWARD march!

"Christ, the royal Master leads against the foe; forward into battle. See, His banners go! Onward Christian Soldiers! Marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

The Warrior Mentality

We all have defining moments that either make or break us.  Whichever they are -- God will use them for our good.  Our destiny and purpose is wrapped up in each and every one of them.  It's that "stuff" that causes the aha moments -- those moments that seemed like the worst of worst times, but were actually the turbo boost to propel us to where we were meant to be. Most of the time, those defining moments come as adversity.
The times of adversity either make us stronger and cause us to have the "warrior mentality" or we succomb to the pressure and throw in the towel and have the "pull-the-blanket-over-the-head mentality".  One makes us stronger and leads to success and the other causes us to quit and leads to failure stories.   They're either stories that said "I pushed through to victory" or "I gave up and quit.  IF ONLY....I had persisted."    From Abraham Lincoln to Steve Jobs to Michael Jordan, great leaders and achievers push themselves beyond the point of failure and take a step back to re-evaluate why they started the journey in the first place.  Even when their body or mind tells them to quit, they dig deep and push through the adversity.

That's what our annual Unstoppable Summit is all about.  This weekend, once again (8 years in a row), incredible, die-hard leaders from all over the country have come together to re-evaluate, re-focus, re-ignite, re-enforce and re-mind ourselves that we are warriors who are on a daily mission to accomplish everything God assigns us to -- all for the purpose of making the difference in people's lives.    I loved it yesterday morning when we were talking about the "warrior mentality" of strength, courage and determination.  Warriors don't fear combat -- in
fact, it causes them to rise to the challenge.  They are on the front line with their trusted comrades and strongly value both courage AND loyalty.  Warriors are distinctly solid and physical, ready for action.   Today, Staci brought out a sword that had been given to her by her pastor because he said he saw her as a warrior.  She asked Anthony Abron​ to demonstrate his warrior voice.  In his big, booming, boisterous, strong and authoritative voice he belted out his interpretation of a warrior's offensive, protective, determined cry.....AND, it shook the house.  That cry/yell would certainly cause the enemy to run in terror.  And, isn't that what our attitude toward the enemy should be?  Not a wimpy, woe-is-me, pitiful attitude and cry, but one that causes the enemy to flee.

Almost as if on queue, a knock came to Larry & Staci's front door, it was Pastor Keith Craft (their pastor and,(by the way -- a complete surprise to all of us).  He wanted to show us his Team Strike Force's new meanest, baddest, AWESOME F650 truck.   "Now that's a WARRIOR'S machine!" Team Strike Force was founded by Pastor Keith Craft 28 years ago -- with the purpose of conducting school assemblies to motivate and encourage students with doing what's right.  They are Christian bodybuilders who wow crowds with their feats of strength.     That's "Warrior Mentality".  Being tenacious, committed, passionate about doing the right thing and helping young people become warriors who do the right thing too.  

Isn't that the warrior mentality we all should have when it comes to standing up for what's right and doing what's right -- to take all life with passion and purpose and dig in deep to declare war on ANY and EVERYTHING that tries to stop God's assignments?