A Great Morning

"For thou are the glory of their strenth: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted."  Psalm 89:17

Isn't it a great morning to start expecting the favor of God to show up in the details of your life?  This statement at the end of today's devotion really stuck with me.  I never really expect God's favor but am constantly awed by His work in my life.  On Friday, I watched as my daughters were blessed with recognition for their academic and music accomplishments.  Then on Friday night, through teary eyes, I watched my eldest daughter complete her education at a school that has been as much of a family as anyone could have asked for.  It has been our village for the last nine years and I can't imagine her heading off to a new experience but they have prepared her well and now it is time for her to fly in high school.

This morning, I watched God's hand at work as two young men were confirmed and received their First Communion at our church.  They happen to be classmates at the girls' school so it was especially nice that one daughter was serving at the altar and the other was singing (and playing percussion) in the choir.  Seeing these young men make this commitment to their faith was such a happy occasion when so many their age turn away! 

At every turn, I see God's hand at work and the blessing that come from Him.  Even in the trials, I am reminded that His blessing and His plan are at work....and I marvel that I have been so blessed.

Have a blessed Best Life day!

Live Favor-Minded

So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed.  [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance.  1 Peter 1:13-14

I'm really struggling with this idea of being favor-minded.  Growing up Catholic, and used to a lot of guilt, I was taught that I had to earn my place in heaven with good deeds.  Seems a little difficult to do enough good deeds to be worthy of a spot in heaven.  Now it seems that I can't in fact, earn a spot in heaven since it has already been given to me by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  So if I already have my spot in heaven, good deeds take on a whole new meaning.

Living favor-minded though, to me, implies that I expect God's favor rather than being grateful for the favor he has given me.  I'm sure that's not the interpretation that is intended but I just can't help that Catholic guilt from creeping in and twisting things.  Maybe it's the word "favor" that's throwing me off.  I don't like the idea that someone might not be in God's favor.  Wouldn't God love and want to bless all of his children?  If everyone were favor-minded, what then?

I prefer the gratitude view.  I am grateful for God's favor and know that I don't deserve it and haven't (and couldn't) earn it....ever.  It's so easy to list all of the ways that God has blessed and favored me and my life is so much better when I remember those blessings.

With Mother's Day coming tomorrow, I am reminded of the blessings that God has given me.  My mom is here, healthy and a wonderful grandmother to my girls.  My mother-in-law is also alive, healthy and loves me and my children.  How blessed can you get to have a great relationship with your mother-in-law?  I am mother to two beautiful, talented, smart, funny and good-hearted girls who may someday grow up to be wonderful mothers themselves.  I am grateful for all the moms in my life who give me advice, show me (and teach me) how to be wonderful mothers and who give me support.  I am grateful for my daughters' two godmothers who also happen to be two amazing sisters. 

So I rejoice in the favor that God has given me and I "live" every day mindful of that favor.

Have a great Best Life day!

God Will Open Doors

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28

Hmm, preferential treatment.  This seems like dangerous territory.  The idea that we should expect God's favor is a bit unsettling.  I know I don't deserve it and yet so many times, I have seen it in my life.  Why would I be blessed any more or any less than anyone else?

The author goes on though to say that  we can expect preferential treatment not because of who we are but because of whose we are.  This totally changes the perspective.  It isn't because we are better (or not) than anyone else or that we deserve it.  It is because God's blessings spill over onto us if we are "favor-minded".  Sometimes, I believe that we see our blessings more simply by paying more attention to them.  If we live our life as one of gratitude suddenly we have so much more to be thankful for each day!

I am reminded that today is the National Day of Prayer. This prayer is for our nation but my prayer for today is that we all become more "favor-minded" and see the blessings in our lives so that our hearts might be hearts of gratitude and not despair.

Almighty God, you are our Mighty Fortress, our refuge and the God in whom we place our trust.  As our nation faces great distress and uncertainty, we ask your Holy Spirit to fall afresh upon your people — convict us of sin and inflame within us a passion to pray for our land and its people.  

Grant the leaders of our country an awareness of their desperate need of wisdom and salvation in You until sin becomes a reproach to all and righteousness exalts this nation.

Protect and defend us against our enemies and may the cause of Christ always prevail in our schools, courts, homes, and churches.  Lord God, send a spirit of revival and may it begin in our own hearts.

Remember America, we pray.  Remember the foundations on which this country was built.  Remember the prayers of our nation’s fathers and mothers, and do not forget us in our time of need.

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

by Joni Eareckson Tada, Honorary Chairman

Have a prayerful, Best Life Day!

Redeemed From The Curse

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."  Galatians 3:3

Every family can probably name something that seems to get handed down from generation to generation.  We laugh about it sometimes or make jokes...the hairline of the men in the family or some physical feature that all the women seem to get (or don't get).  Often, there are more significant genetic traits that are nothing to laugh about.

In our family, many of us are worriers or struggle with anxiety.  I'm now seeing it in the next generation too.  Depression too has been battled by a few family members, myself included.  Not exactly a legacy you want to hand down to your children.  At times, it can seem like a family "curse".  No one really talks about it but you know it when you see it.

Knowing that God can break that curse if we do the work and persevere is reassuring.  Breaking the cycle is important.  Each generation wants the next generation to be healthier, happier and more prosperous. 

"Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.  We are blessed, and we cannot be cursed." 

Amen.

Have an uplifting Best Life Day!

Think Twice As Much

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, for you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the left."  Isaiah 54:2-3

I had trouble with this devotion today.  The idea that if you'll keep the right attitude, God will pay you back double for your trouble made me pause.  Sometimes it seems as if some people, despite their amazing attitudes, just can't seem to catch a break.  Then here I am, feeling amazingly blessed and there are days when quite frankly, my attitude just plain stinks.  It didn't jive with what the author was saying.

So how to reconcile the conflict?  Are some people going to walk through life and always have struggles despite their positive attitudes?  Doesn't it seem like sometimes the bad guy wins? 

Maybe the meaning is grander than the level I originally thought.  Maybe it means that God's blessings aren't the things that we normally think about - material goods, health, etc.  Maybe the person with the right attitude is rewarded double in something so much better.  Maybe the right attitude is the blessing.  It certainly does make a difference in how you view the world, how you view others and how you view your circumstances.  Maybe you get the blessing of knowing that God is there, walking beside you each and every step of the way through the difficulties and then carrying you when you need it most.  Maybe as one friend posted yesterday,  

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, 

because he always lives to intercede for them."  Hebrews 7:25 

It's nice to know that Jesus is always praying for me and interceding with God on my behalf.  That's a bigger reward than anything on this earth. 

Have a wonderful Best Life Day!

Be A New Creation

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17

I had to think about this one for a bit.  The author talks about "spinning your wheels" in life and I could definitely relate to that once I started thinking about it.  Usually I don't have too much trouble moving forward once I decide to do something but there are a couple of things that get me every time.  Eating right and exercise.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm actually one of those people that likes the sweaty, in your face type of exercising.  Jillian Michaels is my hero.  As much as I wanted junk food, I didn't have anything during Lent so willpower isn't an issue when my mind is set on it.  That's the problem.  I'm so "all or nothing" that I'm either totally obsessed with food and the gym or I'm not at all and nothing seems to motivate me.  I can't seem to strike that perfect balance.  Neither option works well for very long.  Somehow, I need to realize that if I miss one day or mess up, I can start over the next day or that just a bit for today is better than nothing.  For some reason, it doesn't take much to completely throw me off the track in either direction.

So for me, living my Best Life needs to be a healthy balance of eating right and exercising and permission to go off track once in a while without a total standstill.  That's what I need to be a new and better physical me.  A new creation.

Have a healthy and moving Best Life Day!

Today Is A New Day

"You have dwelt long enough on this mountain....Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers...to give to them and to their descendants after them."  Deuteronomy 1: 6, 8


What a wonderful gift it is to wake up each morning knowing you get another chance to get it right (whatever 'it' is).  Didn't exercise?  That's okay, start today.  Didn't eat right?  Today is a whole new set of calories.  Didn't remember to count your blessings?  They are doubled today.  Didn't use kind words?  You're getting a new day to apologize and make it right. 

Holding onto the past is something I'm prone to do.  It is often very difficult for me to let things go.  What is the saying?  Women aren't hysterical;  they are historical.  Over time, that kind of thinking really eats at your insides physically and emotionally.  Forgiveness, though is "giving up the hope that the past could have been any different" (Oprah).  So if where I am is because of where I've been then all that was God's plan and moving forward from here takes me on the path that God has intended for me.  That makes me look at things that have happened in my life in a very different way.  It's just not that easy to do. 

Thank God, I get the chance to try again each and every day!

Have a brand new Blessed Life day!

Run Free

But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things re possible."  Matthew 19:26

It's Easter Sunday and a beautiful day outside.  The windows are open, a gentle breeze is blowing.  The girls are playing with a friend, we had a wonderful family weekend with my in-laws and got a surprise invitation to dinner tonight with good friends.  It truly does seem like all things are possible today.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16


Have a Best Life Easter Day today!

Fresh Positive Attitudes

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  2 Corinthians 10:4

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that he needed a new dream or goal.  I could definitely relate as I have been searching for that myself this whole year.  I still can't articulate why I had stopped dreaming.  It just sort of happened as I let everyone else go ahead of me in line!  It's hard to follow a passion when you're not even sure what that is.

I took a big leap this week and applied for a position that is heading me in the direction I believe it is time for me to go.  I felt really scared before I hit that send button.  It's not that I didn't think I could do it or that I was worried what people might think but I knew that as soon as it was "out there", that the Lord could make all things happen and that the path of my life could change.  I was fearful of the unknown. 

When had that happened?  When did a new challenge ever bring me fear?  Slowly, though as the week progressed, I felt it happen.  I got a bit lighter and the shadows began to give way to light.  I'm now very excited about the possibilities that this new opportunity could bring to me and to my family.  My prayer now is that it is the right place, the right time and it is God's will for me to go this way.

I've always told my girls, "What you think about is what you bring about".  It's another way of saying that your attitude plays a real role in how you live your life.  "Stinkin' Thinkin'" is another quote I've heard.  I'm really ready to give up that stinkin' thinkin' and move ahead.  Let's see what God has planned!

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3


Have a Happy Easter!

Break the Cycle

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty.  Zechariah 4:6

The thoughts for today's devotion really struck home.   

"God wants to do a new thing in your life.  What you will receive is directly connected to how you believe.  But you've got to do your part and get outside that little box you've grown accustomed to.  Start thinking big!"

Getting outside the little box I've grown accustomed to is exactly what I need to do.  It's so easy to tell my graduating 8th grader that the "world is her oyster" and "Who knows what great things await you in high school?"  because I've been through it already and know how wonderful it can be.  I never used to be afraid to step out on faith and go for it.  The consequences of just risking myself didn't seem too big.  It seems so much harder with a family - the consequences and worry seem so much bigger.  But what do I really have to lose?  I can't dream as big as God can dream for me.  If He has faith in me, why shouldn't I have faith in myself?  If I'm not afraid to take a hot air balloon ride, zip line, backpack with a friend through Europe, ride in a small engine plane or get married and have children, what's the worst that can happen by starting a new career?  My worries are small in comparison.  Maybe the cycle I have to break is my own bad thinking.

Have a great Best Life day!

Passing on a Legacy

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.  -Psalm 78:4

I often think about the legacy I am leaving my girls.  I idolize my own mother and hold her in the highest respect yet I can remember a time when I couldn't imagine sacrificing the way that she did for her children.  She gave up her "career" when she married and knowing she always wanted a family, had six children.  We never truly appreciated her until we were older and began to understand all that raising children entailed.  She did most of it by herself with my dad taking a very traditional role of breadwinner.

I wasn't sure for a long time if I even wanted children.  That changed when I met the right man.  Then I couldn't imagine giving up my "career" to be at home.  Forced to make a choice, I couldn't imagine leaving my first baby for a full time job and part time wasn't an option in that moment.  Enduring years of comments about me "not working", I struggled with how my girls would perceive me.  Would they think of me the same way I had thought of my own mom?  My life is very different from hers.  I have, in fact, worked outside the home almost the entire time I have been raising my children.  It hasn't been in the same line of work as before but it always brought something to the family that could help either financially or in kind.

I listen to women who have gone on with their careers or started something new and hear them say, "I wanted my girls to have a strong role model.  I wanted them to know that their mother was passionate about something and went after it."  Does that mean I didn't?  Should I not have "given up everything" for them?  I can't imagine doing things any differently but now I wonder again about what legacy I am creating for my girls.  Would I want them to do the same thing I have done and my mother did?  I'm not sure.  I think there needs to be a balance.  I think I might have been too all or nothing in my choices.  It almost feels like heresy to write this down.

So now as I think about pursuing something for myself, I know it will mean sacrifices from my family because we've all grown used to the routine we have.  Will they survive?  Most likely.  Will I?  I'm not so sure.  I'm still looking up from the bottom of the priority list.

To have passion, to have a dream, to have a purpose in life. And there are three components to that purpose, one is to find out who you really are, to discover God, the second is to serve other human beings, because we are here to do that and the third is to express your unique talents and when you are expressing your unique talents you lose track of time.  -Deepak Chopra

All your actions, words, and knowledge that you share while you are living become the gift that you leave when you are gone. ~ Jim Allen 

The Legacy You Leave

All You will leave behind for the world to remember is Your Legacy, so ask yourself:

Will you have earned the respect of your peers and the admiration of your critics?

Will you have acted humbly at the peak of success and graceful in the face of defeat?

Will you have kept your childlike wonder and reveled in the beauty of the world and the small miracles that each day brought?

Will you be remembered for how often you laughed and brought smiles to the hearts of others?

Will small children and the elderly have been overjoyed to be around you?

Will others have trusted you with their inner most secrets?

Will you have forgiven and offered heartfelt apology?

Will you have looked for the very best, and done your utmost to build worth, in others?

Will you have fed a hungry child or clothed a naked man or given hope to a stranger in dire need?

Will you have left this world a better place by the life you have lived?

What kind of Legacy will You Leave?

© 2000 by Rick Beneteau
http://rickbeneteau.com

 Have a Blessed Best Life Day!

Get Out of the Rut

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  --John 14:12

"I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."  I heard this quote by Oprah Winfrey when asked what her greatest fear was going forward.  Imagine having that kind of confidence when giving up a show that she's been doing for 25 years.

It's really easy to get so caught up in routine that pretty soon life is going along on auto-pilot and you realize that days, weeks and years have gone by and you can't quite recall how you got there.  Having the courage to get out of a rut is a lot like getting up from the sofa to exercise.  There's a certain amount of inertia that has to be overcome before I can start moving.  Fear of failure, uncertainty and anxiety can all be forces that keep me from getting started.  Somehow, deep within, I have to find the "potential" energy that God has for me and turn that into a moving force.  Sometimes I've been go-go-going for so long, that when I finally find a moment to contemplate the bigger picture, I'm too exhausted to take a single step.

"Step out in faith and you will break through the barriers" says the author of these devotions.  Just don't look down!

Have a blessed Best Life Day!

The God of Increase

How great are his signs, how mighty his wonder!  His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, His dominion endures from generation to generation.  -Daniel 4:3

It's hard to believe that over a month has gone by since my last blog entry but it's taught me (again), just how fleeting life is.  You blink and suddenly, your daughter is getting ready to graduate from 8th grade, find a few gray hairs that you swear weren't there yesterday and you begin to wonder what God's purpose is for your life because there seems to be more to see looking backward than looking forward.

God didn't take a break while I did.  All around me continue to be messages of "follow your dream", "do something you love", "live your best life" and "find your passion".  Each time something pops up, I'm reminded that this is a time in my life for introspection.

Life goes on whether you're ready for it or not.  There have been many blessings in the last month.  My daughters continue to show me that they are becoming amazing young women and can do so much more than I could at their age and understand more about their relationship with God than I might even know now!  God truly is the God of increase and I pray that my girls will be blessed with that increase.  Somehow, too, I know that God has something waiting in the wings for me.  In His time, not in mine.

For now, I know that I need to return to these daily devotions and pray about the days ahead.

I hope you've been living your Best Life days!

Soar with the Eagles

"And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God."  1 Samuel 23:16

At the right times in my life, different individuals have told me how important it is to surround myself with good people.   It started with my parents who impressed upon me the importance of having friends that would steer me toward good behaviors, challenge me to excel at school and would like me for who I was.  In my 20s, a few well placed people in my life gave me good advice about mentors and those that could help my career.  In early motherhood, being with other good moms made me want to do better.  Along the way, it became a conscious decision to keep negativity at bay by disassociating myself from people who never had a kind word or a positive thought.

No where along the line though, do I remember anyone encouraging me to surround myself with people of faith in order to strengthen my own.  Now that isn't to say that no one ever did.  I probably just didn't listen.  The same rule applies.  It just make sense.  "Play up" is a term I use with the girls when they want to get better at something.  Play with someone who knows more or can do more than you can and you'll strive to get better. 

What I won't do though is be around people whose faith has made them close minded or judgmental of others.  The stereotype of the ones we see on the cable news networks are the extreme example.  What I'd rather do is be around people who understand God's love for all and who, by their example, encourage others to faith based lives.  I'm lucky to have several of those people in my life right now.  It's easy to see how I will need to strive to "play up" with these folks.  I've seen what faith has done for them in their life.

Hmm, that's got me thinking too that maybe I need a life mentor.  You know, someone who is living their best life and could get me to "play up" (there's that term again) in my own life.

Can you advertise for that on Craig's list?

Have a happy Best Life day!

Let Faith Blossom

Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear."  Psalm 10:17

It's been several days since I posted a blog and that's mostly because life has gone quickly this past week.  My daughter played her final basketball game with her middle school friends at a tournament this past weekend.  As a few moms placed a rose on each 8th grader's chair, I was struck by the love we have for all of these girls and how much they really do care about one another.  I have sat next to one mom for three years and we've watched these girls grow into the women they are becoming and I couldn't be prouder.

God has surely heard the prayers of this humble heart and the days are nearly here for us to hear His word and try to understand His will for our family and our daughter's high school future.  While we have been praying that He will bless us with the choice we want, we also know that we will accept whatever happens and guide our lives accordingly. 

I didn't realize until this morning how much I have been figuratively "holding my breath" and that the day is upon us.  I lament that a high school decision should hold this much power over us or anyone in the country and I have been wondering what I might do to support the idea that everyone should get an equal (and excellent) education as was originally intended by our leaders so many years ago.  I guess I must first seek to understand what was originally intended before I could do anything about it but I do know that I can vote my conscience now.

Funny how no one else in the house seems to be anticipating this as much as I am.  Maybe I should take a lesson from them.  I might just sleep a bit better at night this week than I have.

Have a beautiful Best Life day!

Change Your Family Tree

"Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.  Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height."  Judges 6:25-26

You can affect future generations by the decisions you make today, says the author of today's devotion.  That's enough to keep me, the recovering perfectionist, paralyzed for fear of doing something wrong.  I've seen it happen with with other members of my family.  Every decision has to be carefully researched, every option considered and sometimes to the point that no decision is ever made or it takes forever to make what seems like a relatively easy decision.  That's a hard anxiety to fight against.  However, I think the author isn't trying to scare me but to encourage me to take a risk to positively affect the generations to come.

I often wonder what role model I am for my girls.  I'm not the same career-oriented person I was in my twenties but I still think of my life to date as pretty successful.  I wonder, though, if they do.  Do they really get that I've continued to work in many different capacities all under the guise of being a "stay at home" mom?  That somehow I have managed to juggle it all - at least most of the time?  I've seen women interviewed who say that the reason they are doing what they do is so that their children have the role model of a strong woman pursuing her dreams. Does that mean that putting some dreams on hold was a bad thing?  When asked, my girls still want me to be involved as a volunteer and don't care for the idea of going to before or after care in addition to their day at school, so maybe they do "get" why I did it.

What I do know, though, is that whatever dream or goal I pursue next will definitely affect not just me but my family too.  I want it to be a positive effect.  We all deserve it.

Have a forward thinking Best Life day!

Oceans to Enjoy

In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel."  Isaiah 17:7

The author asks, "Are you enclosed in your own little well?  Look out over the edge.  God has oceans He wants you to enjoy."  Some days it's hard not to go through life with the blinders on.  Some days you can't help but think, "I'd love to do that but..."  I admire those people that never add the word "but" to their dreams.

Two friends of mine ran in a race over the weekend in New Orleans.  I know they've had to sacrifice to train for it and had to make childcare arrangements in order to fly there and be gone for a few days.  The photo that was posted showed a triumphant woman who had just finished the race and looked as if nothing could stop her.  Another friend is leaving for a missions trip next week.  All around me, amazing women are doing amazing things with their lives.  I have such great role models giving me inspiration.

Can ye fathom the ocean, dark and deep, where the mighty waves and the grandeur sweep? --Fanny Crosby

Begin Looking Beyond

"Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.  As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."  Hosea 6:3

Today's devotion is all about risk taking; being able to rock the status quo.  I can't say that I'm a huge risk taker but more of a calculated risk taker.  I'll ride any roller coaster that has an over the shoulder harness.  I'm looking forward to one day taking a zip line (with the appropriate safety gear) through a rain forest but stepping off a cliff with no safety net?  Not me.  Some things that others might think is a risk aren't frightening for me.  I don't mind public speaking where others might find it terrifying.

So thinking about taking a risk comes down to the risk/benefit for me.  What do I have to lose?  What do I have to gain?  What's the opportunity cost professionally, personally or spiritually?  If I rock the status quo, am I ready for the consequences?  Is there more to fear than fear itself?

Maybe life should have a safety harness.

Have a great Best Life day!

Stop Limiting God

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God In Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:13-14

Trying to look forward into next week or next month is tough.  I'm trying hard to figure out what to do but right now I just see darkness, no light at the end of the tunnel.  That isn't to say that I think things are hopeless.  On the contrary, it just means that I don't see anything...yet.  I have to remember that what I'm doing now, I never would have thought I'd be doing just a couple of years ago! 

If anyone would have told me that I would find myself substitute teaching, I would have laughed.  I never would have thought I could do it.  I can't judge whether I'm good at it or not...I'll let the teachers decide (and the parents and students) but I'm always mindful of the fact that I have an obligation to carry out what the teachers have planned, make my time there worth the parents' tuition and hopefully teach one thing that at least one student will learn for that day.  It makes me really mindful of a plaque that a friend gave me with this saying,  

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

Who knows?  One of these students might just be president some day!

Have a great Best Life day!

Good Things Coming

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

I've been doing a lot of praying this school year that God would open the doors to the schools that our daughter could attend for high school and close the doors to schools that would not be a good fit for her.  God has been faithful to us and now we are in a final waiting period before we make our decision.  In some ways, my own life hangs in the balance between the ability to choose my career path for the next few years or doing something "to make ends meet".  It's a blessing to be in this position and with our frugal choices over the years, I have been blessed to be at home part-time with my girls for as long as I have.  I have earned money in some way the entire time (at least according to my Social Security report and my Income tax forms) but the pressure has never been on me to return to the work force in a substantial way.

I always wondered if I'd be able to make it as a stay-at-home mom.  It wasn't my original intention and I didn't think I could do it but God has a way of sending you down paths you don't expect (see yesterday's blog).  If I hadn't been home with my girls, my husband wouldn't have been able to start the non-profit that he continues to run to this day and it's obvious to me that God had planned that for him (and us) all along.  It's been a huge sacrifice but I know that it's his calling to work with these students.

So sometimes I struggle with the fact that maybe I was never meant to do something "great" but that God had always planned for me to be in the background.  That bruises my ego a bit.  Or maybe I am doing something "great" and I just don't think highly enough of it. 

At least I know that in the next three weeks, my life is going to be different when we decide on my daughter's high school.

Have a warm Best Life day!

King of Kings

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."  1 Corinthians 2:9

This excerpt from the Bible is the beginnings of a song that I love to sing at our church.

"Eye Has Not Seen"

When pain and sorrow weigh us down,
be near to us, O Lord,
forgive the weakness of our faith,
and bear us up within your peaceful word.

Our lives are but a single breath,
we flower and we fade,
yet all our days are in your hands,
so we return in love what love has made.

To those who see with eyes of faith,
the Lord is ever near,
reflected in the faces
of all the poor and lowly of the world.

We sing a mystery from the past
in halls where saints have trod,
yet ever new the music rings
to Jesus, Living Song of God.

Chorus
Eye has not seen,
ear has not heard
what God has ready
for those who love him;
Spirit of love, come,
give us the mind of Jesus,
teach us the wisdom of God.

This is big stuff.  I'd love to think that God has these great plans for me.  The author suggests that God's ideas are outside the box of anything that we could possibly imagine.  That gets a little tricky.  I've never been an "outside the box" kind of thinker.  Sure, give me the box and I can come up with something to do with it but step outside of it?  Much harder.  I'm more of what you'd call an "adaptively creative" person.  One step at a time.  So I really have to trust God to show me what he wants because it's pretty unlikely that I'll be able to come up with it on my own.  Or maybe that's the point?

Time feels like it's slipping away and I'm letting it go.  It's already February and yet motivation to move forward isn't there.  I guess I still feel like I'm in winter hibernation, just doing enough to get by every day and make sure that no one accuses me of neglecting my kids or my husband.  Or maybe I'm just in a cocoon, bundled up amidst the laundry waiting to be sorted or folded, waiting for the right time to emerge as a butterfly! 

Have a beautiful Best Life day!

Raise Your Level of Expectancy

"Set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on earth."  Colossians 3:2

"Keep your head down" is a common expression.  Sometimes we walk through life just hoping nobody notices us.  In order to see what is possible, we have to raise our heads up and look around.  Today's devotions suggests that I focus on the possibilities and follow my expectations.  The bible verse for today suggests that the focus should be on the higher things, God's things.

Interesting then, that I was working on the children's church lesson for tomorrow.  Twice each liturgical season, I prepare a lesson for the children of our parish.  I was reading the bible passages and the theme for the lesson is choice.  Making good choices.  Choosing the right path.  Following God's laws.  Choosing to be happy.  I'm very aware that God is using these messages for me too. 

I had breakfast this morning with someone who has become a good friend as our daughters have gone to school together.  She is one of the most Godly women I know and I am also fortunate that she says what's on her mind and doesn't mince words.  I just love being in her company.  She chooses God even when times get tough.  She uplifts those around her.  I aspire to be like her.  I will miss her sassy ways when the girls graduate in June.  She's a true gem.

I choose to surround myself with people who choose light, optimism, happiness, whatever you want to call it.  I am blessed to have a lot of people like that in my life.  Choosing to try to find the good and the happy in every situation is hard but so worth it when you do.  Maybe I need to raise the bar, raise my level of expectancy and choose to see my best life in the life I have.

Have a blessed Best Life day!

You Can Be It

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?""Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.  "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours - otherwise not."  2 Kings 2: 9-10

Any athlete that I have ever seen interviewed has talked about visualization as one method of achieving their goal.  The vision board I'm assembling is one way of visualizing the result I want.  Seeing it my mind is another way.  But if you're not sure what you want to visualize, you can't very well do it, can you?  How do you visualize something intangible?

The lack of a goal feels a bit like a boat that is drifting at sea.  The sails are drooping just waiting for the wind that will carry the boat to places unknown before.  If the wind picks up but the boat doesn't have direction, it will just go around in circles.  Ah, now there's a visualization!  It's making me a bit seasick!

I'm happy to let God drive the boat.  I'm just waiting for the winds to pick up.

By God's Power

"It shall be done to you according to your faith."  Matthew 9:29

Do you ever wonder if your faith is strong enough; faith in God, faith in yourself, faith in others, etc.? When one falters, do the others compensate?  If your faith is weak or being tested, does that mean there will be less of God's blessing or more because that's when you need it most?  "What He wants to do in your life is not going to be by your might or power.  It's going to be by His Spirit," says the author of today's devotion.  Good thing,  because there are days when my might and power feel like there's been a service interruption. 

I wrote a dedication this morning for my daughter's 8th grade yearbook.  We were asked to include a baby picture and keep our thoughts to 100 words or less.  I asked the question, "How do you pour so much love into 100 words or less?"  Eventually, I found this quote.

"What I wanted most for my daughter was that she be able to soar confidently in her own sky, whatever that may be.  -- Helen Claes

What I've come to realize, is that this is what I want for myself too.  There is nothing like the feeling at her age of the whole world laying at your feet and the possibility of everything and feeling totally invincible.  At my age, I need to peel away the layers of self-doubt and boundaries and open myself back up to the possibilities that God has for me.  It shall be done according to my faith.

Have a blessed Best Life day!

Expect Great Things

"Everything is possible for him who believes."  Mark 9:23

 As soon as I read this passage, the first thing that popped into my head is the Josh Grobin song, "Believe".

Believe in what your heart is saying,
Hear the melody that's playing.
There's no time to waste,
There so much to celebrate.
Believe in what you feel inside,
Give your dreams the wings to fly.
You have everything you need, if you just believe.

Children find it so easy to believe.  Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Fairy Godmothers are all part of many children's lives growing up.  At some point they stop believing but we don't have to stop believing in the one person that can make all of our dreams come true.  I need to keep reminding myself of that.  God has done great things in my life already.  I just need to have faith that all things are possible and then work towards that best life I'm seeking.  

We're home for yet another snow day today.  A little decluttering might be in order or maybe I'll finally get through those Christmas decorations on my dining room table.  Just one small step toward living the life I want.  Just believe.

Have a "snowy" Best Life Day!

Expect God's Blessings

He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of his free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus."  Ephesians 2:7

There is the darkness of nature when the days are short and there is darkness of spirit when negative thoughts and depression settle into your spirit.  Sometimes, when the days get  brighter, your spirits lift and sometimes it doesn't without prayer and help from others.  This time of year is difficult and I find myself teetering on the brink of darkness waiting for the days to lift and lighten so that my mood might also.

I took the opportunity to go away for the weekend to try and lift my spirits and it worked even if temporarily.  Coming back, I realized that I had not given thought to my devotional book and here it is nearly three days later and I have just gotten around to looking for the next one.  Ironically, it was all about getting rid of negativity to be open to God's blessings.  It's an ironic contradiction that I can intellectually realize how blessed I am at the same time feeling pulled toward a black hole.  I think it's what keeps me from falling in.  The ability to see that reality in the third person makes it manageable.

This morning, I looked out my daughter's window and realized that we have turned the corner.  The sun was just coming up over the horizon as I was waking her for school when it seems like just last week it was dark at the same time of day and perhaps it was.  We might still have a long stretch of winter to live through and more snow and ice to contend with but the sun and the Son are coming!  We just have to hang in there.

Reach Out By Faith

"For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  but Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  Matthew 9:21-22

Some people are eternal optimists, you know them.  They always find the good in everything or see the blessing.  You know too the pessimists.  They see the glass half-empty all the time.  They find fault when there is so much more good than bad.  Sometimes it's in the guise of "helping" but you leave their company feeling like nothing is ever good enough.  It's a little different than the perfectionist who seems to critique themselves more than they do anyone else. 

So while I have said for many years that I am a recovering perfectionist, I also have to admit that in my early 20s, I was definitely more critical (in the critiquing sense) of life than I am now.  Somewhere around age 26, I realized that my attitude had to change or nothing in life was ever going to make me happy.  It hasn't been easy.  Asking someone who naturally wants to find the fault to see the good is hard but after 20 years, I can say that I am making progress.  I don't know if I'll ever get to the point of a eternal optimist but my life is so much happier when I focus on the good and not the bad or the ugly.  It's still there but so much more manageable when it's covered in good stuff! 

Yesterday, I learned that 50% of happiness is genetic.  So for those of us that didn't get that gene, the rest must be learned.  Surrounding myself with naturally happy people has really helped.  Knowing that how happy my children are can be influenced by my own happiness "state" is important.  Having faith that God has something great in store for me also keeps me focused on the positive.  Sunlight does a lot as does the beautiful snow that I see outside my window today. 

Now how does one find happiness is cleaning the bathrooms?

Have a "happy" Best Life day!

Renew Your Attitude

"Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins.  If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, they pour new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved."  Matthew 9:17

It's amazing and sometimes sad to watch the progression of childhood to adulthood.  We stop laughing as often.  We're told to "act your age".  It gets harder to find the joy in the little things as we sweat not just the little stuff but the big stuff too.  No wonder we all need to renew our attitudes once in a while.  Disney World is one way that I can renew my attitude and get in touch with that inner child.  Snow Days are another way.

Living in a part of the country that can get several snow storms a year, I am always renewed by the beauty of the snow on the trees, the warmth that I am grateful for when I am inside protected from the cold outside and the sense of contentment that I feel when we are home bound and have all of our obligations canceled.  I think I look forward to those "snow days" now just as much as I did when I was a child!  I realize that I am blessed to be at home with my children in a way that allows me to take those snow days off.  These snow days are truly "best life days" for me.

So as the Northeast part of the country braces itself for what seems to be a significant storm, I am grateful that today gets to be a "best life day"!

Have a best life day today!

Keep God's Word Visible

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sita t home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up...Write them on the doorframes of our houses and on your gates."  Deuteronomy 6:6-8,9

I have to admit, having gone through Catholic school, bible study wasn't a big part of our school life or our home life.  Did I learn the Hail Mary, the Our Father, the ten commandments and most of the Baltimore catechism?   Sure, and I have been blessed to have much of that sustain me throughout my life.  But as my daughters have attended a Christian school, I have seen the blessing that learning and thinking about verses from the Bible has been for them and in turn, it has become a bigger part of my life.  I would love to be able to call upon the bible "chapter and verse" as so many can do but not in the vigilante way that the media presents to us but in a way that guides and strengthens me.  Anyone can take a verse from the Bible and use it to illustrate their point but I believe that God should use it to illustrate His point. 

So when a verse really speaks to me, I try to pay attention more than I have in the past.  My memory isn't as good as it used to be and it sure does take a lot more to get things from short term to long term memory but every now and then , something clicks.  Recently, I wrote three verses down that will probably make it to my vision board.  I'll share them with you today. 



Proverbs 15:22 (New International Version, ©2010) ²² Plans fail for lack of counsel,
   but with many advisers they succeed.


Luke 11:9-10 (New International Version, ©2010)   ⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.


Romans 15:13 (New International Version, ©2010) ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a Best Life Day!
 

The Value Of Memories

"When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do."  Numbers 15:39

Wow!  I am continually blown away at how God is using things in my life to really focus on these devotions.  The other day, I mentioned a photograph in a magazine that I was thinking of posting on a vision board.  So today, what does the devotion talk about?  "I suggest you consider putting things up in your home or office that build your faith - perhaps photos that bring back good memories or show you living life to the full."  Okay, I get it!

We don't lack for photos around here.  The girls' lives are well documented.  My life since we had the girls?  Not so much.  You might think I hadn't done anything since having them for the lack of photos of me that aren't with my husband or my children or me behind the camera but there have been lots of things.  I've been running my own home business for over ten years.  I've worked outside my home part time doing things that were additive to our family's life like my job in childcare at the YMCA or substitute teaching at the girls' school.  So I can't say that I haven't done anything while I've been technically a "stay at home mom".

But I don't think that's what the author is trying to say.  I think he's really talking about this idea of creating a vision from examples when you were living life to the fullest and also where you see yourself going.  So, as best I can, I'm going to start pulling pictures and clippings and whatever else I think might work for me and put them on this new vision board.  Who knows where this is heading? 

Break The Curse

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on the pole.  Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."  Numbers 21:9

Lots of people say they believe in luck.  I prefer Oprah's definition, "preparation meets opportunity".  You need both of those things.  It makes sense to me to prepare for something while you're waiting for the opportunity to be successful.  God's blessing allows for those two things to meet at precisely His right time.  I also believe that God allows for the "law of attraction".  What you put out to the "universe" or God, comes back to you sometimes 10-fold.  Put out goodness and love, get goodness and love in return.  I think that's what the author is talking about in today's meditation as he tells the reader to break the cycle by changing the image or vision you have of yourself.

I treated myself to a pedicure this morning so that I could "give myself permission" to read the only magazine I subscribe to on a regular basis.  There's a great photo in there that I came across of a women climbing between two giant Sequoia trees in her bare feet with a remarkable quote, "No great thing is created suddenly.  There must be time.  Give you best and always be kind."  by Epictetus a Greek philosopher.  Across the top of the page was "Live Your Best Life".  Again, as in days prior, it is not lost on me that these visual clues are coming at me as I work my way through this "Best Life" year.

I think I'll tear the page out of the magazine and frame it for my office.  Maybe I should start one of those vision boards and see what theme evolves. In the meantime, though, I'll just enjoy how good my feet feel!

Have a "Best Life" Day!

Eyes Of Faith

"Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, "Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can.  That's how many descendants you will have!"  Genesis 15:5

Talk about big dreams!  For a man who thought he was too old to have children, it must have been incredibly difficult to believe that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.  He had faith and let God dream the big dreams for him. 

"Change what you are seeing, and you will change what you're producing," says the author of today's devotion.  My perception about my life changes from day to day and it does affect how I view my life at any one given moment.  When the laundry is piling up and the girls aren't getting along and my husband's been away doing what he does, sometimes it's hard to see just how blessed I am.  When life is sunny, it's so much easier to count the blessings.  Those with strong faith are such role models for me because I can see it in them when times are toughest and it just shines through. 

I had the pleasure of teaching some 7th grade girls for a week at the beginning of the quarter in their elective, "How to be a Godly woman".  They called it "manners class".  I thought of it more as a chance for them to see just how wonderful God had made them and because of that, understand that they needed to set the bar high for how people treat them especially young men.  It was a pleasure to spend that week with them and today I've been invited to attend their final field trip, a high tea.  It's easy to see just how many stars in the sky await these young women.  Getting them to see it is a little bit tougher.  Hopefully, I said something that week that they can keep in their hearts.  It reminds me of a plaque someone gave me that we have hanging in our home.

A hundred years from now no one will remember
How much money I had in the bank
what kind of car I drove
or what kind of job I had.

But I will be remembered
as someone special
because I made a difference
in the life of a child.

Focus On Your Goals

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord:  Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn."  Isaiah 51:1

It's not lost on me today that I was watching the christening of the Disney Dream cruise ship while I was thinking about today's devotion.  The ceremonial champagne bottle was filled not with champagne but with dreams of adventure and friendship and all the things I want for my own life.  I could feel the excitement of all the people who are aboard the maiden voyage and as a self-proclaimed Disney addict, I wanted to be on board with them.  There's something about the Disney brand of magic that keeps me entranced and going back time after time.  Everything seems possible there.

So it shouldn't surprise anyone that one of the few things remaining on my bucket list is to work at Disney World even if it's just for a few weeks once in my life.  I want to make people's dreams there come true just as other cast members have done for me.  That might not happen this year or next but "a dream is a wish your heart makes" and my heart has kept that one for a long time.  In the meantime, I keep trying to work toward that goal.

But even that doesn't seem like it's "big enough" or is it?  How big should dreams be?  How lofty should your goals be to honor and bring glory to God?  Not everyone can be Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King.  Since Monday's quote about service by Martin Luther King was posted, I've been trying to look at whether or not there's one act of service each day in my life or one way in which I've paid forward the blessings that I have received.  It might be as small as preparing a nice meal for my family or making sure my daughter has clean basketball socks for the game but those count, right?

So maybe it's time to find a quiet moment and really think about the goals and vision I have set forth for myself or need to dream.  I don't want to be limited by my own imagination if God can dream so much bigger for me.

If you want to watch the christening, here's a link:  http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/01/disney-dream-christening-webcast/ 

See Yourself Rising

"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light that is in your is darkness, how great is the darkness!"  Matthew 6:22-23

This time of year has gotten difficult for me the last few years.  I love the fall and winter but the dark days don't love me back.  Add in a very hectic schedule and some other things and I find myself fighting to stay in the light physically and metaphorically.  It doesn't take much stress to send me into a weeping heap or looking to hide myself under the covers.  One of the few things that helps is exercise.  This is one thing in which I have learned that I have to put myself first but don't always resolve to do it.  Sometimes I still resort to the proverbial "taking to her bed".

So then, to see yourself rising can have multiple meanings here.  Rising out of bed, rising to new levels or even raising your own self image, the effect can have a great impact on your life.  If as the author suggests, you can never rise higher than the image you have of yourself, it behooves me to start working on the image in my mind of myself.  What do I really think of myself?  Do I hold myself to the same esteem (or higher or lower) than others do?  In this best life I want for myself, do I have a higher image of myself?

Instead of looking outward with my eyes maybe it's time to look inward in my mind's eye through the darkness to see what lies beyond.

Get A New Vision

"Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?  And don't you remember?  --Mark 8:18

Today's devotion seems particularly appropriate for a day honoring Martin Luther King.  This man had an amazing vision of a world which we are still trying to achieve.  He saw what the world could be, trusted God to lead him where he needed to go and took people on the journey with him.  He was such an amazing individual. 

A friend posted a quote from Martin Luther King this morning on her Facebook page.  "Life's most persistent and urgent question is:  "What are you doing for others?""  Without care and concern for one another, I don't really think we can consider ourselves human.  In light of the recent tragedy in Arizona, I often wonder if we'll ever get it right but the stories of heroes shine through as examples of the good that can come from tragedy. 

It's a good day to be thinking about a new vision. 

Expand Your Horizons

"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."  --Psalm 31:24

"Look yourself in the mirror and say, "I am not going to settle for mediocrity,"" the author tells us today.  This seems counter-intuitive to the perfectionist who is always trying to find that place of good enough.  Somewhere in there is a balance.  Balance is a word that comes up a lot for me.

It's very easy for me to take on too much and say yes to too many things and then resent the fact that I don't have time to do the things I want to do.  This year, I am resolved to stop saying "yes" to the things I don't want to do and start saying "yes" to the things I do want to do.  My youngest daughter asked about having dinner with one of our favorite families this weekend and instead of thinking "Oh, they're probably too busy" or "There's too much to do around here", I took a chance and sent a text.  Tonight we're having dinner out!  She's thrilled.  I'm happy and I said "yes" to something I wanted to do for a change instead of talking myself out of it.

Who knows what else the day might bring?

Don't Stop Now

Terah took his son Abram, ...and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, But when they came to Haran, they settled there.  --Genesis 11:31

The author challenges the reader to 'pull up your stakes, pack your tents, get your belongings, and start moving forward.'  I suppose it would be easy to interpret this as, "Get your stuff!  We're going to Africa!" as you may have read about so many others doing.  Fortunately, the author then goes on to say that this is just a metaphor and we're not leaving on a jet plane in the morning.  Moving forward, I suppose, doesn't have to mean moving out.  Does it?

Today, my daughter asked me to take her to the mall.  Not exactly an average request from a fourteen year old girl but on a Saturday where she might be seen by friends in a mall that doesn't allow parents to abandon their kids on Fridays or Saturdays, it was a surprising one because it meant she was stuck with me for the duration of the shopping trip.  Oddly enough, she didn't seem to mind.

Even more surprising was the fact that on the walk from the car to the mall, she held my hand and chatted all about....well, something.  I couldn't get over the fact that she was holding my hand and not looking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was looking.  We walked into FYE and she showed me what had prompted the request.  A set of DVDs for an anime show that she likes.  She went through all of the racks and talked on and on about this show and that show.  Once she had made her decision, we continued to talk as we walked to the front and she actually asked if I wanted to go to another store with her.  What?  Spend more time with you and not argue?  I was thrilled.  She mentioned some store named Hot Topics but was sure I would want to walk right out which sounded to me like, "I dare you to like something that teenagers like" but was surprised when I started noticing all of the cute and funny tshirts they had there. This brought on more chatter and a few smiles!

A soft pretzel and a lemonade completed the trip and we were on our way home.  I think I saw a small glimmer of a best life in that shopping trip today. 

Step out of Your Comfort Zone

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."  --Hebrews 11:8

"It doesn't take any more effort to stay filled with faith than it takes to develop a negative attitude."  I don't know.  I have a real tendency to be a glass half empty person.  If you're reading this and thinking, "Wait, I know her.  She's not a negative person," then you didn't know me in my early 20s.  It was a conscious decision to really work toward finding the positive, the good in every day life and I still struggle with it as my husband will be happy to tell you.  That recovering perfectionist comes out quite often.  How do you decide when "good enough" really is and when you should step outside that comfort zone and really push yourself toward God's perfection for you? 

There have definitely been times in my life where I have pushed myself and reaped the rewards.  Trying to live a life with no regrets means that sometimes you do have to say, "What the heck" and go for it.  I want my girls to live their lives that way and yet it pains me to see when they are afraid to take a risk.  I'll never forget the time I decided it was time to face my fear and sing solo in church.  I walked up to the ambo and looked out among the congregation having convinced myself that no one there would ever tell me if I messed up (they all love me, right?) and I saw the face of a good friend that I wasn't expecting to see.  All of a sudden, I had a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.  She was no less likely to critique my performance than anyone else but it was a moment of shear panic.  There was no turning back.

So where do I need to stretch now?  What am I afraid will happen if I decide to go for something I've always wanted or pursue a new dream?  

I've been trying to get a handle on this "putting me first" thing that people keep talking about.  Not in the selfish negative way but in the take care of me so I can take care of everyone else kind of way.  I put it off but don't deny myself the occasional pedicure.  Spending $10 to get my eyebrows waxed doesn't seem like a guilt-inducing pleasure.  I even looked up another mom's blog (http://www.blogher.com/putting-me-mom) to see what she had to say about it.  The minor things aren't hard.  This "lives changing" new direction could definitely mean sacrifice on more than just my part and I think that's what makes it so hard to decide what to pursue.

So yesterday I did a little retail therapy at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I'll probably make an appointment for a pedicure instead.  Sure, let's put this off for another day.  Maybe I can think about my life's pursuits while my feet are soaking.

Stretch Your Faith

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith."  --Romans 1:17

I had a hard time with this devotion today.  "Maybe you've been coasting lately, thinking that perhaps you've reached your limits.  You're not stretching your faith."  The author is talking about a goal that you've been trying to reach and just haven't gotten all the way there yet like losing weight or paying off credit cards.  My issue is really more one of not knowing what goals to strive to reach.  I know my fitness goal has gotten a little lax but I've been back at the gym this week and feeling better about it.  Healthier eating....well, yes, that could use some work too. 

There's just nothing motivating me to strive at the moment.  Nothing on the horizon that looks like I want to go after it.  That's what I've been praying about and looking to see.  In a way, that is coasting.  Just living life, status quo and focusing on everyone else.  Maybe God is giving me this time to look around and be open to whatever is in store for me. 

I'm always blown away by episodes on "Oprah" when someone has seen a previous episode and then you find out that they've gone and done something truly amazing because they were so inspired.  I can just imagine the feeling they had that they were so compelled to act on their feeling, they let nothing stand in their way.  It has to be an amazing thing to experience. 

Something to think about.

With God On Your Side

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spared his own Son, but gave up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"  --Romans 8:31-32

Today's devotion suggests that we should never allow negative thinking to keep us from God's best.  He can cause you to be at the right place at the right time.  This I know for sure.  It's happened several times in my life.  When you look back at how many things had to happen for that one moment to be precisely what it was, you can't help but believe that something greater than yourself was at work.  I feel that way about meeting my husband.  This blog would we way too long if I took the time to explain all the things that happened to make that meeting a reality.

So why not trust God to show me what he wants me to do isn't really the question.  I do trust Him.  In fact, I count on him to show me something, anything.  I've put it out there to the universe and waited.  I'm still waiting.  But maybe by waiting, I'm not doing enough to make what He wants a reality.  Or perhaps, I think I've put it out there but He knows that I'm really afraid of taking a "next step" for the first time in my life. 

There's something about this next stage in my life as my girls finish middle school and go off to high school that has made me feel differently.  It's not an empty nest syndrome.  In actuality, I feel more like I've got one more shot to do things right in these "later years" whether they be 1 year, 10 years or 30 years+.  How do I make them as meaningful as possible?  How do I do something purposeful that has the least effect on my family?

Sounds a bit like a mid-life crisis, doesn't it?

We Serve A Great God

"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."  --Jeremiah 29:11

Today's devotion suggested that perhaps I had experienced adversity or trials in my past or had more than my fair share of setbacks and heartaches.  It also suggested that it is time to break out of the "barely get by" mentality and become the best you can be, not merely average or ordinary.  This got me thinking.

Quite the contrary, I feel like my life has been pretty blessed.  Have there been trials?  Of course, watching my mother deal with her strokes last year was heart wrenching to say the least and the idea of losing her was torture.  Have their been heartaches?  I can definitely think of one in particular that took two years to recover from but have I had more trials or adversity than anyone else?  Definitely not.  I am amazed by the strength some of my friends show me on a daily basis who are going through things much worse than I could imagine.

I laughingly say that I am a "recovering perfectionist".  "Barely getting by" hasn't been a part of my vocabulary except for the few battles I have had with depression.  Maybe it was cocky to think that I wasn't ever average or ordinary.  What has changed though is that I don't feel like I'm putting that to the purpose I should be.  If I take something on, it gets 100% of my effort.  Sometimes that makes it difficult to focus on more than one thing at a time.  But ultimately, what fulfillment do I get from it?  Maybe it's time to start thinking about the things I do that give me the most fulfillment and focus on those and get rid of some others.  Or maybe it's time to find something new to put my efforts behind.

I hope that through this effort I get some insight into why I'm here and what God has planned for me.  Hopefully, I haven't been looking in the wrong places so far!

Unpack Your Dreams

"For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."  --Isaiah 43:19NLT

Oh, this is going to be more difficult than I thought.  Dreams?  I've completely lost track of my dreams.  I used to have them, I think.  I don't think dreaming about new living room furniture is exactly what the author had in mind.  "He wants to pour out His far and beyond favor on you" - Ephesians 2:7 surely can't be about upgrading the bathrooms.  I can remember dreaming about getting married and having children.  I even remember dreaming about my first home.  Sometimes, I feel a little dream bubbling up inside and then I think of all the reasons why I can't go after it.  Who would take care of the kids while my husband is pursuing his dream?  Or, that's too big a dream.  Try to dream of a decluttered home that gives me peace?  Why should everyone in the house be forced to live the way I want if the clutter doesn't bother them? 

I should be dreaming bigger.  If I'm looking for my best life in the one that I have then there have to be big dreams that I could still reach.  Well adjusted, self-confident children?  There's still time.  Rejuvenating my marriage?  A strong possibility.  There still has to be something that I could dream of for myself.

This is going to take some work.

My Best Life Is Here Somewhere

I freely admit that I'm a goal driven person.  I always have been and I probably always will be.  What I've always struggled with though, is what is beyond the goals and that is purpose - the thing that is supposed to drive the goals.  Give me an end point and I can get there.  Ask me why I'm doing it and I probably can't answer you.  As 2011 approached, I realized that I didn't have anything that I thought worthy of being a "goal" for this year.  There were the persistent "lose weight", "get organized" type of things but even those seemed superficial at best and not very life changing at this stage of my life.

My husband gave me a devotional book for Christmas this year and I realized that it was the third such book that I'd received in the last few years each of which has found its way into my nightstand black hole or the book case in my living room bound for a life of dust bunnies before being donated to a "worthy cause".  Maybe God is trying to tell me something? Maybe I should finally be the "worthy cause" I donate too?  But how likely am I to really take the time to read each one for 365 days, think about it and then act on it?  If I'm such a goal driven person, I need something to keep me on task, especially since they all start on January 1st and here it is already January 9th.

This morning, after church, I mentioned to someone that I need to start saying "no" to the things that I don't want to do, and start saying "yes" to the things that I do want to do.  Why not start with this?

So tomorrow, January 10th, I begin finding "My Best Life" in the one I already have through a series of daily devotionals written by Joel Osteen in "Your Best Life Begins Each Morning".  Will you help me stay on track?