Take Root and Write

Destinations Do Change

God puts many things in place that we are often not prepared for and it is a wise person who will listen to the voice of the Lord, and then moving in the direction of His instruction. As we look at the time that God was telling Moses how to build the wilderness tabernacle, all the minute details and who was to do what, we find God plans for the largest to the smallest details for perfection. The same is true for our lives.

Exodus 31:3 (KJV) states, "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship," There is a comma because God then states further the details of his craft and materials. What is true for all of us is the fact that God fills us with the spirit of God and we gain wisdom, understanding and knowledge for the work that he has planned for us to do.

Over the past several years the church has preached, taught, struggled with, and questioned the purpose of the particular congregation, and then in turn each individual went through the same process to determine what is their specific purpose in life. It is with this particular issue I write today.

Its All About Understanding

It seems like the whole world is beginning to Twitter these days, and I am amazed at some of the people I have met. What a joy to find people with the same passions. For those of you who don't know me well, my passions are first God and teaching, then news and politics. Many of my female friends wonder how  that goes together. Some of my dear sisters have tried to point out that they don't, but that's not what the Bible says.

It's all about understanding who you are, and who God is in you. A bigger question is this, is God operating in and through you? Do you have a relationship with God through prayer, fasting, biblical study and exercising your gifts? If so, then you already know that the Bible talks about many different types of gifts that develop a number of different skills and they all work together in the Kingdom. One is not special over another.

I have been privileged in my life to have met a number of very special women. Their stories reflect not being understood as children, because they weren't the perfect little girl or little lady that mom's always wanted. To my sisters who like to play baseball with the boys, climb trees and pick fruit, compete with anything the boys were doing--and win--Kudos! If you or your daughters like to get out in the big family garden in your bare feet, weed, water, and feel the mud squish between your toes, and especially to those women who joined the military for whatever reasons, I smile with you.

Graduation: Level to Level Faith

     
"God works in mysterious way, His wonders to perform." It is not really a Bible verse but people really love to quote it. God does work in ways that man cannot understand and yes, He does want to do things that are loving, burden removing, and allows things to be put in our path that will challenge us to grow. That's our loving Father in Heaven. It has been my experience that we don't always appreciate the challenges when they come, nor do we exercise the champion within us to overcome.

In this season that so many people are experiencing the joys and relief of graduation. Watching the graduates sit nervously as the speaker stands at the podium, listening to words to be imparted. Vibrating the air with a wonderful message of hope, a quick look back over their accomplishments, and a glance at their immediate future planned many years ago Then that magical moment grads and parents all hold dear, the words "move your tassel to the other side". Wow, they made it.

A group of women that I gather with from time-to-time and I sat down to evaluate where we were at and what needed to change in our lives. Deep thought provoking and yank ya up by the bootstraps kind of questions that only your best friend would dare to ask. God has graduations for us at each level of development, but if we can't pass the test, we have to do a repeat. Once we learned that lesson, the lessons became a lot easier to complete. They were also easier because there was other people able to speak into our lives through knowledge, understanding, and wisdom which all comes from love--love of the God and love of each other including ourselves.

Forward By Choice

Christmas 1985, my brothers, their wives and children all gathered at my apartment for dinner and good conversation. What they didn't know until the end of the gathering was it became a going away party as well. I announced that I was leaving Utah. You should have heard the gasps of shock and amazement.  Their faces were something akin to telling that I had an incurable disease. There were no congratulations, no questions asked what I would be doing or why the decision. It was an automatic denial through expressions. Their reaction was certainly not anything close to what had been expected.

So many of my friends had left the state with encouraging fanfare because they were moving on with life, searching for their place on the planet, and a future that they had planned. What was the difference between my friends and my situation? Simply fear and the spirit of control that I hadn't realized were long standing characteristics of our family makeup.

Have you noticed certain family behaviors that don't fit with your way of thinking? Or do you go along so not to cause any friction, even though you're not going in the direction your heart is nudging you? It is often a very delicate and troublesome choice.

My brothers, both of whom had been to many countries, traveled both in the military and for their church told me that I would not be able to survive out in the world. What a joyful experience I would have missed had I allowed others to think for me, confine me to a particular culture or thought pattern.

No Isn't Personal, It's Just No

Over the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to review several manuscripts to see if they were worth the effort and time involved to edit and make something out of them. It is a job that I take very seriously and my clients know that I don't try to make something out of nothing. Either there is a story or there isn't. There might be a good start or nothing but rambling.

A perspective client called me one day two weeks ago and started asking me some questions. They told me all that they had done, tapes he wanted transcribed and made into books, then some older teaching materials that he thought would be real "sellers." So I started asking him some questions. Then we got to how do I decide. Answer, do this long enough and you get a really good instinct.

He then asked how I tell some one it isn't good material. Again, I use God's rules. Honesty. If its workable, let's find out how the material could be changed. Encourage the writer to allow change in their material. And then, if it just doesn't make it at all, tell them. As I shared with this client, if there is not hope for it, better to know at the beginning than be taken for financial reasons and then still end up with nothing.

This brought me to the point of questioning how we develop relationships in general. Are we as honest in our daily relationships as with business clients? How about with our fellow Christians, do we speak honestly but with words of encouragement?

The Law of Distraction

When I was a kid, my eldest brother and I would stay up all night watching scary movies. Our parents would conk out about 10 pm. Memories flooded back today as I was trying desperately to get inspiration for writing. Lot of projects but not much inspiration, besides the sun was out and it was 60 degrees. So what do you do, you watch movies, right? I found an old movie with Vincent Price called The House On a Haunted Hill. It was one of his best. Even though it was in black and white, the actors were heroes from my past movie and popcorn days.

Every Saturday my mom would give me a quarter to go to the matinee. Sometimes the manager would let me and my girlfriend in so we could get some candy or popcorn. In addition, there were the days that my mom would pick me up after school and we would go get something to eat at McDonalds or Hotspot, then we would go to a movie. So there wasn't much time for homework or the stuff most kids were supposed to be doing. I loved it because on movie days with mom, I didn't have to get my chores done. My point?

I was taught from childhood how to become distracted from the important things. It wasn't just a now and then. You could actually make a schedule of when we would be at the movies. The theaters changed every week, and with three theaters using a rotating system you could literally be at the movies most of the week.

Vending Machine Faith

If you Twitter.com then you've probably seen this quote by Robert C. Gallagher tweeted, "Change is inevitable--except from a vending machine." If you're like me, I quickly read it and passed on to something else until the other day. All at once my eyes locked on to the phrase, the truth hit my mind,  and filtered all the way to my heart. There is something about the word "change" that we either embrace or try to skip over.

On Christian Women Take Root this past year, women have had the opportunity to study and implement the book Character Makeover by Katie Brazelton and Shelley Leith. Great starting point if you're serious about change but I started talking with others in my daily life and found how many are not ready for serious change. It sounds good, they know it would be beneficial, but there are just stumbling blocks to getting into the motivation of it. Change, as we know, is one of the most resistant development skills we need to accept. So why don't we?

Gaps Are Spaces To Exhale

"Disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality." John Maxwell

If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, usually they have an answer. It may sound like what a lot of other children answer, but to them it is unique. It might even be something they have seen a family member or older sibling doing, but to them it is unique all the same. As children growing into maturity, we see the world through the eyes of hope and victory. Even a mistreated or abused child has a hope and vision for change.

A bright bubble in the 1960s allowed us to extricate ourselves from the dreams our parents had for us; to act and think "out of the box." Taking risks that previous generations refused to do, except for those brave souls who were the backbone of most progressive entrepreneurial developments. All-in-all, most parents would warn those rebellious youths not to stray too far away from what had worked before. A  high-five and under the breath "yeah, yeah, yeah", we were off to the new frontiers.

NASA was in its infancy still, we could dream of going to the moon. We could dream of hotels under the sea. Nothing was going to be impossible for the 60's generation. Even while many elderly statesmen said that the 60's rebellion was going to destroy life as it was known, it was actually a launching pad for many developments.

Like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and others in their generation, there were disappointments, failures, start ups and fall aparts--but the visionary got back up. And in between all of these steps to success there was plenty of time to have gaps in productivity. It is easy to become discouraged and disappointed. Success is not found in how many times we fall but how many times we get up, skinned knees and all, pushing onward.

Interestingly, as the 60s generation found ourselves standing in a very large "gap". We were the generation between what was considered old school and what was fast becoming new school and try it if you want to, don't put walls up. We inhaled the past, exhaling it in a new form.

Treasure Hunters

As a book reviewer, I enjoy the various types of books sent to me to read. A recent book really captured my heart. Randy Alcorn's The Treasure Principle, but even more so, the story behind the story.

After years of writing and teaching on the theme "God owns everything," in 1990 Randy Alcorn was sued by an abortion clinic (for peaceful, nonviolent intervention for the unborn). Suddenly he had to resign as a pastor and was restricted to making minimum wage. Legally unable to own anything, Randy gave all his book royalties to missions work and need-meeting ministries. He and his family have experienced the reality that God really does own everything, takes care of us, and graciously puts assets into our hands that we might have the joy and privilege of investing in what will last for eternity. That's The Treasure Principle. It was his story that got me thinking.

How many times have you and I mused if we could only find ...whatever is the object of our happiness?  Randy Alcorn certainly had "it" all going on. He was the pastor of a congregation, writer, and family man. But because of his belief and strong relationship with God, was able to go from having it all, to having nothing but the basics. His actions on behalf of the God he served also changed the lives of those he cherished on this earth--his family. That is when you can tell the true merit of your relationships. If you have it all, you will certainly have friends. But loose it all, and most will scamper forgetting your very name.  You can read the entire review here.

Think of Mother Teresa who raised millions and millions of dollars to enable her to take care of the poor and needy. Through the Missionaries of Charity, they received the basic of care, not mansions and newly built homes, but food, shelter, and sustenance. She had a love for God and her fellow humans with a heart full of treasure. Mother Teresa found the "treasure principle."

A woman with a heart for God and humanity, she started out with a desire and persistence to help those who could not do for themselves. Today it is an international organization helping the poor and those caught in natural disasters with food, clothing, medicine, and continues to open doors around the world. One person can make a difference.

A reminder from Mother Teresa to all of us: "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think there is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."

One of the greatest treasure hunters of all time was Solomon. Here is a man who inherited a fully functional kingdom from his father, David. What is one of the first things Solomon does? He starts sacrificing bulls, goats, and lambs by the thousands. This, of course, was after he spent millions of dollars (in today's currency) to build a temple and palace. Nothing was lacking; unique carvings and windows were placed in the palace. The temple was almost beyond description in beauty. Yet, his first thoughts were to offer sacrifice to the Lord, because he understood nothing had happened because of just Solomon, nor even because of the wealth of King David. It had happened because the Lord gave them favor.

When God asked Solomon what he wanted for the sacrifice and love he had offered to the Lord, Solomon replied, "Wisdom". In all three of the examples, Randy Alcorn and his family, Mother Teresa, and King Solomon, they went after the character of giving through love instead of going for the greed in the hand.

"But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:33 NIV.

How can you and I make a difference this week by being Treasure Hunters? First, let's decide where each of our treasurers are? What do you seek after that brings you joy and happiness? Even in bad times, there are good things.

The Bible says "Give and it shall be given..." Luke 6:36 NIV Let's live the life of treasure hunter's through "the treasure principle!"

 

Yes to Being Radical

During the 1960's, we the children were referred to as radical, hippies, Jesus Freaks, and many other suitable names depending where you lived and the 60's culture in the area. Mellow Yellow was not the  color of a new paint or flower. Everyone was to be happy--no pain, no suffering. And yet there was plenty of that, but we learned to avoid feeling. Our parents were confused and wondered what in the world was happening to their family. After all, many of their children were brought up in moral homes with structure, values that spoke well of God and man. And now, we the children of the 60's look at the world through the eyes of experience, gaining wisdom in our choices, and for many of us regrets at those choices. We see what has become of our next two generations, those that are currently in power and those who are a decade behind, as well as those who are the children of our current leadership. Forty-plus years of radical behavior and thoughts.

We lived somewhat complicated lives coming out of the days of rebellion, finding ourselves in the place of our parents, assuming leadership positions in corporate realms, the government, and our own households. For many, we were not well equipped. We had rebelled against society, parental supervision, rules and regulations preferring our own substitute society. But most of all, we rebelled against God, accepting the New Age merchants, Nirvana, inner peace and think and grow rich themes. Reality began to hit the soft spots of our character. We had to become responsible. We turned from the age of irresponsible amoral indulgence into the greed markets of Wall Street, Main Street, Hollywood, and any venue we could market our newly formed skills.

In other words, we said "Yes" to being radical in all things.

Honoring Women Who Made a Difference

Life is full of ups and downs, but we do remember those who make a difference in our lives whether positive or negative. This month is to honor those women who have made a difference to the planet, society, and just as importantly, to individuals. One of the first that comes to mind is Amelia Earhart, the first woman to pilot a plane to 14,000 ft. then made secret plans to fly across the Atlantic in 1932. The part of Earhart's story that stands out is when she saw her first plane at a country fair she wasn't impressed with the dusty, rusty old thing. It wasn't until she witnessed stunt flying that she got excited. You can read her biography at http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/bio.html

Another woman of distinction is Sojourner Truth, a slave in the early part of this  country's development. She was bought and sold so many times in her young life, until the Emancipation Act was passed. She didn't run like some of the other slaves from their "previous" owners, instead she walked away a free woman. During her long and difficult life she found God, having a great revelation of the "essence of God". She is listed in this honorary list because she suffered at the hands of other humans, determined to survive, was a mother and demonstrated great courage. These are qualities we should all remember and be passionate about. More of her biography can be read at http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm

Hollywood, Bust, or God

There is a woman who, with a group of others, was on her way to Hollywood. She was high on the emotional drug of the music industry. This woman and her group had talent enough that people like Clive Davis  and other "big wigs" in the industry regularly call their home phones. Then a strange thing happened, the woman got arrested by God. That canceled the group's engagement with the world, but it didn't stop the music; three other people in the group had three different outcomes.

One member of the group continued in the music business and found a great deal of success. At his death many wondered what happened to "his little black book" which contained numbers of some of the most powerful people in the industry, He grew up in a religious home, had a father who was in the local media, and a praying mom. This man and I were friends. He went his own way, and joined the music executives and other media while enjoying drug parties and free booze. We all pray that he was really sold out to God when he died, but nobody knows for sure.  He did try to stay close to the people of God.

The founder of this little group of talent is still trying to do "his thing" after twenty-plus years. He hasn't had any success.  He is still in the same condition as he was back when the group started. There were others in the group, but these three I can speak about through known history. What is the point you ask? Three people all had the same opportunity to go to Hollywood, come to Christ, or just stay friends but go different ways.

Cookie Cutters By Design

A friend recently gave a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies made with apple butter. Then another friend gave me more cookie recipes in anticipation of the next bake off on the event calendar--Easter. We have different types of cookies for different holidays. There are standards and then there are subtle changes. That's just like us, we make subtle changes or dramatic, sweeping make-overs. And that's what this column is all about, similarities but also our individual self. Even in our cooking, we find some way to put our signature on it.

When my kids were young, and I had a preschool/day care, a friend of mine gave me a recipe for sugar cookies that never get hard. It didn't matter how much the kids squished it, rolled it,  and patted it down, the dough never got hard or crumbly. The left over dough could be put in the refrigerator, taken out, and still be amazingly pliable. Another recipe had to be rolled and baked almost immediately, but  despite its lack of flexibility it had a great flavor. These experiences got me thinking.

As human beings we are made from the same basic recipe. Our characters and attitudes are then mixed in, like raisins and nuts to a certain type of dough. We might have different colors depending upon the basic ingredients, but we are still the same thing...a cookie. How we are shaped and mixed is by divine design. At Christian Women Take Root, a wonderful group was formed based on the book Character Makeover--40 days with a Life Coach to Create the Best You, by Katie Brazelton and Shelley Leith. This is not a book strictly for women, men can benefit from it as well. The takeaway is that we are similar in basic needs, structure, and different in processing. That's the part that can put vinegar in the recipe instead of, or along with milk. Mix the two together and you get curdled milk! Yikes!!

The part of making cookies that I used to really enjoy were the different shapes of the cookie cutters. I found really small ones that were perfect for little hands of my preschool/day care children. What a joy to see them pound the dough and then press a cutter into the flat, soft dough. The kids would squeal with delight once they discovered that the dough could do more than just be squished and pounded. And that is the joy of life; knowing that we have the same ability to squish and pound, roll out or drop by spoon so to speak. We can determine the ingredients for the most part, redesign ourselves, and become.

Weekly Challenge: What kind of cookie are you? What are your ingredients? Would you like to change the recipe a little or a lot? Are you comfortable with who and what you are? Make a decision about something to change. Remember, we don't have to conform to what others are, but look to their godly characteristics and form but be who God made you to be--You!

He made the recipe to have the ability to be molded, changed, and perfected. Have a great week, do something different, and make a difference to somebody else!

Love and Hugs,

Jumping the Ruts

Laughing, the fifty-something woman looked at her audience with tears swelling in her pale blue eyes. Her well manicured fingernails flashed throughout her discussion with the ease of a bird in flight. Ms. Jones, as we will call her, stood in front of more than one hundred men and women discussed the current status of their collective lives. Why the tears, one might ask. Because life as this group knew it had come crashing down around them, not all their fault but the resulted bankruptcy, financial ruin, dreams upended had come to an end, and yet she laughed. Some knew why while others were confounded. 

It is amazing to hear stories today that are reflective of the Book of Job. But do we really look at life that way as Christians? Do we look at loss of jobs and financial success as a test from God? Children that can no longer go to private schools, cutting back on trips, or even proposed purchases--are these tests that God is allowing for us to prove ourselves?  Most people I have interviewed give a resounding no. They believe it is the problem of the government and inept financial gurus in high places.  But I ask you to consider ...

We would all agree that Job was a man who loved God, yet through no fault of his own, he lost absolutely everything. He mourned and wept over the loss of his children, understood the pain and grief of his wife, but would not move from the position that God was in control. So let us consider our own country's condition, no matter what country you live in. What difference can we make as humans in a world gone crazy?

90-Day Adventure In Love

Some of my readers are familiar with Dr. Gary Chapman, best-selling author of The Five Love Languages. Last week I had one of the best encounters with another of his books called The Love As A Way of Life. It had been sent to me as a book review and book blog tour. This whole week is about love books. But this particular one really got my attention for several reasons.

This particular book is a 90-day devotional that is, as he puts it, an adventure that makes love a daily habit. He takes several words and demonstrates how the same things we read in the Bible can have a profoundly different effect on each of us. Have you noticed how each of us has the capacity to love, but we demonstrate it in many different ways, and often depending upon whom we are sharing it with. So what are these words that can change our habits and life?

• Kindness
• Patience
• Forgiveness
• Courtesy
• Humility
• Generosity
• Honesty
• And the last chapter is about doing it all in Christ's strength through his Amazing Grace

Looking at the order in which these words are listed have a special significance also. Starting with simple kindness towards others, having to have the patience our transformation and so forth. But it was a bulls-eye noting that honesty was the end character development. Without all of the above we will not be honest with ourselves and certainly not with others.

Weekly Challenge: Take the 90-day adventure to change your love habits. It will open doors to relationships not only in marriage and/or with kids, but in your church, on your job, and in your community. Then tell others about the challenge, perhaps get a group together. What a great love fest to change the culture and attitude of a neighborhood or group. I'm going to be right there with you--I want to make a change in my habits to demonstrate the love of Christ in greater measure.

YOU make a difference! I can't wait to hear about your growth and experiences. So, come back and leave comments so we can all see the adventure results.

When Life Doesn't Fit Any More ...

This is for all the women who have been there and done that; who have baked the cookies, changed the diapers, and attended all the PTA meetings. We may have been married and had the support of a loving companion, been a single mom, or married and felt single--either way, we have been there and done that.  Now it's our turn to develop or well, just do. When life doesn't fit any more, change your life!

It is so exciting to see women in their 50s and 60s starting new careers and major projects. Remember, Moses didn't get called to ministry until he was eighty but was put on the training cycle at birth. If you're in that fifty- to sixty-year old category, that also means you're part of the Baby Boomer Generation and we don't stop, we change. I also believe that's what some of our younger generations need to see: that we can change with the seasons of life, take what we have learned through experience, and create a new future.

 Ask yourself today what you have experience in but maybe not perfected? My passion for writing has always overshadowed everything I have ever done. Today I have more offers to edit and write content that ever before. It's true, take your passion and make it into a creative experience and see what doors God will open for you. My request of God has been, please just use me that will bring you glory. It has changed over the years, just like Moses had different jobs and phases of development. So can you!

Start with what you have, then ask God to use what you've got and make it better. There was a woman who was on welfare and had a child but wanted to do something with her life. One of her friends started a daycare center--just a small one--and asked her to work for her. She put her skills and talents as a mom into it and now she owns the daycare and has a lot of clients. She also owns her home, has a car, and is self-sufficient.

The woman who started the center only wanted to create something that would give them some extra money and both had a love for kids. The daycare was a natural. God took that natural interest and made it a blessing. What are you waiting for? Where is your natural interest?

Your passion and natural skills will make a difference to somebody!   

Walking In Faith or With Trust

Counseling with people from different backgrounds is very informative and brings a realization that we are not as different as we tend to believe. One of the big issues for people now is walking in daily fear of what might happen based on the current world condition. We see governments such as Iceland collapsing, the United States economy failing and needing to print more worthless money, and we are borrowing more foreign money in order to supply the demands  of citizens. As a general statement, we simply don't want to change our lifestyle. This got me thinking about our walk with Christ.

Some of my non-Christian clients and friends have a much better appreciation for the following scenario than those who are Christian. We are encouraged from the beginning to become better, to expand, and excel. So what happens when we fall or make mistakes? As a child we are encouraged to stand up again and do it over. In today's society where collapse is a breath away in many instances, we gulp, and hold our breath so to speak. So the question today is do you walk by faith? Or do you walk in trust?

For the non-Christian who has been walking with the knowledge that they are bright and very good at the work they do, all of a sudden they start fearing that their work is not good enough. I can't tell you how many people I talk with on any given day in that frame of mind--what if. Unfortunately, it's not much different for many Christians who claim that they walk by faith. Let me give you an example of trust and faith. I hope it will encourage you to walk by faith if it is faltering, and in trust if you want to go further.

God kept asking me if I trust Him. In  my heart I thought it to be a strange and silly question. Yet, when it was asked the third time I realized that perhaps I needed to rethink my answer. When I asked for help in understanding, this is the answer I received.

Miracles On God's Approval

This week we have all heard about the "miracle on the Hudson" and have acclaimed that truly the men in the cockpit were seasoned and well-trained for their jobs.  A big amen to that!  But let us consider that everyday we should be looking and expecting the miracles of life around us.  And I ponder, what does it take to make create a miracle in the first place?

When we look that the life of Jesus we see daily signs, wonders, and the ever popular miracles of healing, feeding thousands of people from virtually nothing.  With Jesus, these things were expected but yet we do not expect the same miracles, signs, and wonders today.

Hebrews 2:4 says, "God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed to His holy will" (NIV).

While we give accolades to man for his wisdom, knowledge,and insights, let us not forget that it first comes as a gift from God

unto man according to His holy will.  I found it interesting that the media repeated that many were saying prayers during those last few moments before the spectacular landing in the river, yet when interviewing people nobody gave thanks to the Lord for their lives being spared.  I realize that there are no miracles without God's approval.

Incredible Rex

 

One of the fun things I do is review books for Thomas Nelson Publishing. A book that I just finished and reviewed is such an excellent book and speaks to many of the things that our women and families struggle with in one way or another--the special needs child. After reading the book "Rex", I realized even more fully that it is not just about the struggles of a loving mom, a distant dad who left because of feeling at odds with his family, but also the struggles that society goes through in accepting and understanding the special needs child.  This column is about making a difference; that our differences are to be encouraged. That includes those special citizens of the world with special needs--one of which is just to be accepted.  Please indulge me while I post the review, and hopefully you will take the time to get the book from the publisher or find it at your local library.

Let me say first and foremost, Rex is not just another book about overcoming disabilities. Cathleen Lewis takes the reader on an incredible journey into what most people simply do not understand--the world of autism, blindness, and relationships for a disabled person.  It is truly an amazing gift the world has been given to have something written so well that the reader gains a new appreciation for all the "Rexes" in the world.

It is often said that when a person is blind, deaf, or affected by some other disability that other parts of the body become more sensitive and somehow compensate. Rex's parents, understandably, are disappointed that their child is born blind; thinking that their precious and beautiful son is looking intently at them, but instead can't see them at all. That would rock anyone's world. Then to find that other skills are missing as well.

Unwrapped Gifts

I don't know about you, but after this particular holiday season, I need a reason to laugh.  Let me change that, I need a season to laugh.  How about you?  Realizing that I can't change much of what lay before us as far as a nation or internationally, the only thing I can change is me.  Am I laughing at myself, well, yes in a sense.  One of my most important New Years Resolutions is to laugh at life, to laugh at myself, and to be free from the stress that the world wants me to get caught up in.

I would like you to meet Wayne Hastings, a senior vice president and group publisher of the Bible Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers.  He has an awesome blog called "Off The Shelf" and is a fellow Tweeter.  I asked him one day what he did to bring love into the world 365 days a year.  His reply was so practical.  He said he tries to tell everybody he works with and meets that they are important and how well they do things.  Looking at his picture you know that he really lives it and he knows how to laugh!

Here is a man who loves what he does.  When he tweets that he is off to do this or that, he sounds like he is going to go enjoy life.  It is part of his choice and developed his character.  I want more of that!  That's one of the differences I would like to make this year--be more of an encourager to people.

It might be beginners who need to be encouraged and watch how more mature candidates for service do things.  Perhaps the vessels in use could mentor and bring a young vessel along for grooming.  That's another of my challenges and resolutions, become more involved in mentoring.  Remember Moses wasn't always perfect in his choices and actions, but God loved him no matter what. 

As the saying goes, life isn't always a bowl of cherries, sometimes we find the pits.  Laugh anyway and grow a tree.  With all the pits we find, we can grow an orchard.

You make a difference!  Be much encouraged to share your difference with someone this week.  And stop by our Christian Women Take Root where you'll find the place to fit and share with other Christian women.

Merry Lifestyle

Wishing you and yours the very best of the Christmas Season
May your days be bright by the Light of the World
Your expressions the words of Life
and your days full of Joy, Peace, Love,
May you demonstrate the reason for the season as your lifestyle

Remembering each day YOU make a DIFFERENCE!

Christmas Real

This time of year can make anybody feel like an over sized walking advertisement for stress and when will it end syndrome.  That's when we need to really evaluate what we're doing, and if it is really necessary.  On Twitter and other social networks, I am amazed at the number of people who are  agonizing over Christmas this year and the economy.  Still wanting to have Christmas past and in fear of telling their children that they aren't going to get a lot of things.  It can be challenging but I found when faced with the same situation, reality can be a great time to share.
 
Let me share with you a true Christmas story as a young mother with four children.  I had posted this on one of my blogs, but feel it is worth sharing part of it here, and hope that it will encourage some of you that are alone, struggling, single parent, and perhaps a nudge to the rest who can make a difference in a subtle and meaningful way.

September had been a busy month that year, the past several had been beyond difficult for everybody.  Now it was Christmas and my first as a single mom with four children.  My paycheck barely paid for the house payments, 2nd mortgage, and day-to-day necessities.  I stood in the middle of the living room which my now would have been decorated like the most eloquent store, candles burning fragrances that said special.  It was, however, the normal looking room without notification that it was that "special time of the year".

One Bottle To Multimillions

A motto that I have learned to appreciate more and more is "Everything starts with one step and one word--point yours in the direction of success".  When the Holy Spirit dropped that into my spirit years ago, I thought, okay and that was it. But over the years, I came to realize that both as a writer and in everyday life, that is a truth.  What I say and how I begin to act on an issue does make the difference, setting the precedence for the next and the next, and the next.  That's why I found Paul Newman's book about his salad dressing so fascinating.

Already a well-known movie star and philanthropist, he had more within him that just needed to come out.  He loved people.  He had a passion for making life better.  And it's easy for us to say, well, he had the money to do things.  Interestingly, he started out his multi million dollar business the very same way everybody else does--on the cheap.

His first acknowledgment was desire for good food.  He didn't just want it for himself, but to share with others, to improve on something.  That's a prerequisite for an entrepreneur; wanting to improve something.  His friend A. E. Hotchner and Mr. Newman worked from the Newman's basement.  It wasn't the most sanitary of conditions according to manufacturing laws, but at that time, it wasn't for anybody, they were just trying to get a recipe.  His spin on the something new?  His product must be all natural ingredients.

Relaxing Can Make A Difference--Much Encouraged!

Today was one of those days when I say "enough!!"  Enough news, enough grief, enough of whatever!   Yeah.  Sometimes we just need to make a difference to ourselves.  You now, kick off the shoes, get something hot or cold, depending upon what you like, and exhale.  Today we celebrate our ability to relax, if even for a few moments to refocus and well, just be crazy, loving, and a bit "as you like it."  As the picture shows, even the improbable can find a way to make it work, when you want to.

Here are couple of videos that i watch which allows me to have a pause and breath of fresh air when I need one--I pray that they will give you the same pause and time to exhale from the seasonal chaos and transformation of our political climate and life in general.  May you be blessed with all good things, keeping your focus on the Lord.  Be much encouraged and share the love of Christ today with someone.  Often it is as easy as listening to someone who just needs an ear to hear them, and a smile.

Tail of the Comet

 Over the past few weeks my thoughts have returned to family; the challenges, the issues that never got resolved, and the lesson learned in amazing ways.  Growing up some of those great life lessons came through slivers of light in an otherwise abuse and often chaotic household.  There is one lesson that I have carried most of my life, and I will be forever on this earth grateful to have received.

My dad stayed pretty much to himself while I was growing up, but I understand it hadn't always been that way.  He had always been a very hard worker, taking extreme care and precautions to get things right and in excellence.  We took care of his mother's apartment complex, which meant everybody got involved in the chores.  From as far back as I can remember, my dad would have me out there even in the winter, freezing cold helping get the snow removed.  I didn't use a shovel, he handed me a sturdy metal dustpan and instructed me to take a broom and the dustpan and clear all the steps.  My brothers did the heavy shoveling, and dad supervised.

I scooped the snow with the dustpan then swept away the remnants of snow so they were clear, then he taught me to take salt and throw it on the steps so the snow would melt and no ice would form.  And yes, I eventually grew into the shoveling.  In the summer, when the water would get in the basement stairwells, he insisted I take my bucket and dustpan and scoop up the water until the cement was as dry as possible.  He was just as safety conscious at work--supervising men in the blast furnace of the steel plant.

Your Time and Your Season

I was reading a book the other day where is says that God has a place for everybody.  Well, we know that too from the Bible. [Romans 8:30; Ecclesiastes 3:1]  But how many of us really know that we are in our position designed by God?  Have you said, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."  "God hasn't told me yet."  So many times we hear our family and friends, or perhaps a co-worker say, "I don't know why I'm here", or doing this, or any number of ways of asking the same question.  Back in my corporate America days, as I was approaching the real end of the season in that lifestyle, I asked God  "now what?"  I knew life was changing but didn't know how or when. 

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  Eccles 3:1 

Do you feel something changing in your life, but you haven't quite put your finger on it yet?  Many times, as moms, we can tell when something is gong on with our kids or family.  But God also allows us to individually have a preemptive recognition of changes that are about to occur.  For the past three months, I have received numerous emails and private twitters asking me if I knew what was happening to them and to the world we live in.  Today, however, I want to focus on you and the change that is occurring in your life because God knows the playbook frontwards and backwards.  So glad it is His playbook and we are just players on His field.  It sure takes the pressure off.

Let The Chips Fly

Here is a truth that will change some of you, confirm others, and jump start some of us to try again--you have a place in the world that is just for you!  Something in my inner being as a child told me that what I saw around me, didn't have to be my future.  It doesn't matter when we take the step forward, God has a perfect plan at the time you get the message.

When I was a kid, my father tried to instill in my brothers and me that a job was forever, and once accepted you never left.  His generation thought that an employee owed the "boss" their life.  My brothers went along with that idea, I did not.  My brothers also found that we lived in the age of layoffs, and downsizing.  My father had not.  I chose jobs to give just good service to my employer, but also to learn new skills.  Never one to be afraid of trying something new, I was put into positions I was clearly not qualified for, but in which my employer would train me.  One of the secrets I found in corporate life is that everybody above a certain level knows the game and plays it to the max.  My brothers didn't get the message until very late because they refused to move.  They both had master degrees and I had not graduated college, but my pay far exceeded theirs. 

My skills had kept up with the rapidly moving technology.  If we choose to stand still, we cannot move forward. We become like statues, and a statue is only an interpretation of imagination. Let me tell you a story that I happened across the other day.  Its an old story, but worth retelling.

Homeless Isn't Just An Earthly Event

 

Last year at this time I was in eastern Africa, thinking about being back in the States as people were getting ready for holiday shopping, Thanksgiving dinner, and then Christmas.  I wondered what it was going to be like in the rural areas I was living, in a place that so far hadn't gotten excited even over the local holidays.

It was strange to find that even the national holidays were nothing of importance.  I laughed at how many times the banks were closed because of "National Day".  It seems that every person had a special holiday if they had been in office, but in a democracy of only 40-years or so that wasn't so hard to understand.  But it was the special holidays of growing up that I took for granted to be internationally celebrated.  So the anticipation started growing.

As the days passed, one morning I sat on my terrace over looking out at the northern mountains that were always green and seemingly close enough to reach out and touch.  The strange ridge of irregularly shaped trees breaking the horizon.  Allowing my memories to flood into a brain that had purposefully trained to be focused and without attachment to too much of the past.  I was, after all, living in a land where there were no old friends, old traditions, and certainly nothing that was tangible to my personal past.

Are You Listening God?

Some days my first waking moments remind me of what I'd like to forget. Have you faced disaster that you didn't think you could overcome?  Are the days of global meltdown more than you can face today?  Has there been more than you could hold inside and you sat on the chair or steps weeping uncontrollably because of the circumstances in your life?  I just really want to wrap my arms around you today and love you, letting you know that God is the answer to all of life's problems and challenges.  There is nothing He does not know that is happening to you right now. 

The following videos declare Overcoming is a choice!  I pray they will speak to your heart today and listen to them over again when you need to have someone say, sing, and speak to that place in your spirit, we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.  And we are more than conquerors!

Sterotypical--Not To God!

 

A friend of mine has been a therapeutic foster mom for ever and ever.  You know what I mean?  She is one of those people that just loves kids in any size, shape, form, disposition, or challenge.  Her home has always been open to anybody who needed a hand out and a help up.  There was one young child that has stuck in my mind over the years, I am going to call her Dorothy.  Nobody could relate or keep Dorothy in control, or so they thought.

One Friday evening a call came that a mom needed respite from her child, Dorothy.  This is a child who have every imaginable mental diagnosis from schizophrenia, manic depressive disorder, bi-polar--you name it.  She was only seven years old at the time!  We know in hindsight that many children in the foster care system have received unnecessary medication.  Dorthy had a bag of drugs that normally came with her.  Dorthy was to arrive the next morning bright and early.

A strong knock was unleashed upon the storm door of my friend's house.  The person was impatient to let off her "charge".  Opening the door, there stood a social worker and little Dorothy.  She was seven but had the temperament of a four or five year old.  The social worker was so relieved to know that the door was finally opened.  Apparently on some occasions, at other houses, the door had remained closed.  Not today!

Do Not Call Me An Onion!

 

Okay friends, I finally took the plunge.  Over on Christian Women Take Root a bunch of the ladies started a "40-day Character Makeover", and I resisted until this last week. My reading for the past few months has been in the form of leadership transformation, so the thought of a personal transformation or make-over just didn't excite me.  But what the heck, I bought the book, flipped through it and started to laugh.  It wasn't all that much different from the books on leadership I had just finished reading.  Except ....all the concepts are God-aimed.

In one of the leadership books, "My Iceberg is Melting" a community of penguins go through the challenge of deciding how to take care of their endangered community; whether to find a new iceberg, hold on to the one they're on, even though it is melting, and just who was going to take leadership positions.  By now you're probably asking what do penguins and melting iceberg have to do with my 40-day makeover.  It's simple really.

In order to allow God to transform me, first by the changing of my mind to accept newness and a different way of doing things, and keeping it real with the Word of God--my self-made iceberg must begin to melt.  You might be saying the very thing I did, "but I like life the way it is."  "I'm a person of change all the time, anyway."  Well, if you really believe that then take the plunge, and see what works and what might need some tweaking.  With the first step to change, the iceberg of old ways begins to give way, and so does the way you react to everybody and everything around you. 

Blessed In the Middle of Chaos

God is a good God, even during these times of chaos and uncertainty, the difference between those who know and believe in the Lord and those who only hope things will get better by the world standard, Jesus is our resource.  It is comforting to know that as Paul states in Philippians 4:19 "MY GOD shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus."  ALL means all, nothing missing.  What a great comfort that gives to the questioning and aching heart.

Psalm 23 really gives us the reassurance:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me besides still waters
He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I shall live in the house of the Lord forever

The difference between those who trust in the Lord and the world, we don't depend upon the world.  We trust in the One who created the world, and holds the keys.

What I Took From the Tree

In a recent column I introduced you to my Great Aunt Sonie, a world renowned china painter.  Musing over the family tree, I almost became giddy remembering stories of those who came before me, and as they say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.  Growing  up, our family was continually reminded that it was our religious duty to keep track of our ancestors and present generations.  My brothers and an aunt did it because they were obedient to the cause; my interest was in the stories and history.

Some of my relatives were colorful, to say the least, while others were a part of national history (US).  Many of my ancestors came to the United States from foreign countries like Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland to join the newly formed Mormon Church.  One relative, it is told was an educator to Queen Victoria's children in England.  My focus, however, were those in the 1800-1900 US history, primarily the era of the pioneers that moved from the east to the west.  Their stories of endurance and sacrifice helped shape my thoughts and character.

One great great grandfather was a friend of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church.  While in Navuoo, Illinois it is reported in my great great grandfather's journal that he was a wealthy man because he had an entire barrel full of vinegar.  Imagine that being a symbol of wealth--until you realize the medical benefit to a group or township that had to depend upon it for various things.  My take away--a great great grandfather who was frugal, friendly, and caring to a community and his family. 

Through written journals I found that both sides of the family started moving west at different times but in the same general migration era.  Some traveled in covered wagons, some pushed or pulled handcarts.  There were several pieces of sturdy glassware handed down through the family, said to have been in the handcart.  But you know, when all you have is a small cart on big wheels, with all your worldly goods for your family in it, how much glassware are you really going to take?  But it makes a good story, and the various pieces did come from that glass era of the old west.  All in all, 70,000 people traveled 1,300 miles in a wagon, on horseback, or on foot to resettle for freedom of religion.  My take away from great great grandmother--a woman sturdy and focused enough to walk over 1,300 miles to a future she hoped would be what she envisoned.  

The Potter and the Painter

My great aunt Sonia was a world renowned china painter.  Many of her original sketches and watercolors have been sold around the world in department stores as framed and unframed art.  Her stories of traveling the world teaching China Painting were always exciting and full of adventure.  On a visit to Washington State with a friend of mine several years ago, I shrieked with delight as I entered a "comfort room" in a friend's house.  There on the beautiful wall, amongst beautiful floral arrangements and furniture was a framed picture of one of Aunt Sonia's floral prints.  The gold frame and black matte made the flowers almost seem real.

As a young girl of ten, our family went to California to visit her for our summer vacation.  She took me inside her studio, carefully explaining the process she went through to create a plate or tea cup and saucer.  It was fascinating.  She took a very plain white cup that actually looked boring, nothing notable about it at all until she began to turn it slowly with experienced fingers.  The shape wasn't all that different from the tea cups my mother had in her cupboard or china closet.  Aunt Sonia asked if I would like to see how she could transform that plain old cup into a new creation.  Oh, yes, was my grateful squeal. We sat, mentor and student.

Over the years I have thought about that experience; watching her take the palette of colors, and with a fine brush mixing just the right blues, yellow, or green until she was pleased with the mixture.  Holding the piece of china in her hands, quick and seemingly effortless squiggles and twists became bright and beautiful flowers.  The colors were soothing, yet vibrant.

Miracle Conduits

It is amazing how many people speak the Word of God but do not believe in their heart that it is for them.  Take the example below (it is in an abbreviated form).  The story has been posted on the Internet, passed out at various churches around the world by people who liked the concept that it was real, and preached by those who were eye witnesses to the event.  But to this day still need to be encouraged to believe it during the crisis or needs of their life.  I pray that as you read this that God will place the truth in your heart and that He really will see you through each and every true need--not desire or lust--need, that you have.

December 27th, 2007, the day of Kenya national election that produced within days killings and riots throughout the country because of an ugly and underhanded result period.  So much of the truth is not told in the media, and certainly not in the western media.  People had to get information from those of us who were actually there, or through Internet news.  There are approximately 30 something tribes in Kenya and each have their own values and language.  People killed each other because they were different.  God blesses because we are the same--we are His.

On January 10th, 2008 my assistant and interpreter went to a place called Keberego, which is a mountain area where there are many tea plantations.  Picking tea leaves is steady work with very poor pay, but available year round.  The 10th of January just happened to be payday in Keberego area.  Pastor Stanley, my assistant had arrived shortly before me and when we met, he pointed out three women with children stating that they had been "dumped here" from the Kericho tea fields.  They had been a different tribe from the locals and therefore not allowed to stay.  Two of the women had witnessed their husbands being beaten and then beheaded; their bodies and those of hundreds of others left on the ground.

Invisible Illness Week;Manifesting the Invisible

Most of us know somebody with a "mystery" illness. I happen to be one and even the doctors that have examined me have said, "I know you have something going on, but there isn't a test that can detect it."  Isn't that amazing, science doesn't have all the answers even if they think they are on the higher end of brilliant.  Without a diagnosis there is no medicine, no therapy, nothing that can be given by man to alleviate the "illness".  And that is the point of my column--I refuse to call it an illness.  To me it is simply a challenge that increases and decreases for some unknown reason.  What is it?

All of a sudden, late in 2003 I started walking into doors and feeling like the room was spinning.  I would stop, get focused and begin to move again.  It progressed until in the spring of 2004 I was walking into doors and walls with increased frequency.  Sitting or standing the room would spin making me feel like a kid getting off of a twirling amusement park ride.  People would say, "Oh, you just work too much.  Rest and relax".  They just didn't understand.  I head would spin out of control while I was in  bed.  For days on end, I would consider that my condition was something like an alcoholic or drug addict must experience when they can't navigate even out of the bed without falling on the floor.  I didn't realize it was going to take on another aspect.

Get Out Of My Way Storm!

Dear Friends,  This week's column is a tribute to the human spirit.

We have all weathered storms this week of one kind or another.  To those who have endured yet another evacuation from the Big Easy, watched parts of their city flooded, yet sighed relief when it wasn't the "Mother of all Storms" that it was billed to be by the time it came ashore in the US.  Others along Gustav's path can't say the same thing.  But to all of you in the way of the tropical depressions, tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding, know that my prayers are with you.

Many in the nation (US) have been through another type of hurricane, that of the political process.  We have seen history made, new pages in many ways in the history books.  I wonder how they will be written.  We find in some history books the portion given to September 11, 2001 is nothing more than a few paragraphs.  A day that is every bit as tragic as Pearl Harbor, but one some historians want us and our generations to forget.  Never forget the details of history--it will help write the future.

To you who are facing the storms of financial crisis, health crisis, whatsoever crisis, know that it is but a season.  I have been diagnosed with just about everything from leukemia (on the border), other types of cancer, diabetes, etc and I still stand today on the word of God, healthy for the very most part.  Been in the place of going through and watching others loose 4-5 homes because of a stock market collapse, and we have all gotten back on our feet.  Nothing is impossible if you choose to fight the good fight.  Keep your focus.

We have seen super powers flex their muscles, killing innocent people in the name of greed and power with more on the way. We watch for the storm clouds over Israel and Iran, over Turkey, Russian, and Syria.  Its not a matter of if a war, it is when does it go ballistic?

BUT ......

What Makes Your Swing

At a meeting recently, I was reminded of a leadership conference where we were handed a sheet of paper with many versions of what a swing looked like.  Of course, the various swings was made to conform with the working background of the dad who was going to build this joyful creation for his son.  One word created eight different styles of a swing; everything from one of the all around favorites, a big tire on a rope hanging from a strong tree limb, or a secured cable, wood, and metal-type trapeze swing.  One word, an idea and a lot of different interpretations.  Everyday, we have the opportunity to make the swing with other people.  What would your project look like?

Proverbs 3:5 states, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding."

If we believe that we each have a deliberate purpose in life, then it stands to reason that God is a partner in the development of that purpose.  But how many times do we try to "build the swing" without any communication with our partner?  How many times have we read in the media of one business or marriage failing because one of the partners didn't communicate valuable information to the other partner(s)?

Each of us has been born with wonderful skills and talents that we improve upon over time. With encouragement from others, we learn to accentuate the postive and deflect the negative--at least most of the time.  We have learned to ask questions, experiment, and transfer some of those skills into other venues.  Then there are those without motivation, no incentive to do better, to try--because there is no mentor to give them a push.

Think back over your life, who was the person or people who have influenced you to try something different? Who has prompted you or challenged you to think differently?  If you're like me, it wasn't anybody in my family that made the positive difference, it was school teachers and mentors in my early professional career.

Whole Heart Diet

Living in eastern Africa taught me to appreciate all of God's creation.  What I would normally thought to be weeds became lunch and/or dinner.  Plants growing on fences, which I looked very much like American house plants, were used as "greens" and excellent for fighting high sugar conditions.  (Caution--do not try this on your own.) One day a house girl went out into the yard and began pulling up rows and rows of weeds.  Instead of putting them on the garbage pile for burning, she placed them by the back door.  She had my curiosity being newly African.  Slowly and methodically she pulled leaves from the vines, discarding those she deemed to be too tough.  It didn't matter if the bugs had eaten through some of the leaves or that the chickens had pecked away; they went into the pot to be washed, cooked, and eaten.

The leaves now boiled down to a soft consistency, mixed with the every familiar cooked onions and tomatoes were served for dinner.  Some were sweet, others were somewhat bitter, and some were absolutely excellent!  Coming back to the States, it was important for me to continue in my weight loss and balance in life.  I was able to loose almost 75-pounds in the year that I lived there.  Fresh food, no preservatives, nor processed food.

Before Africa, salads were not on the top of my list of good foods.  Coming back, there wasn't enough lettuce, greens, and tomatoes.  Nothing would satisfy me except a plate of green something.  I missed the fresh fruit.  I missed that ability to purchase a whole pineapple for about 35 cents in the market or side of the road, instead of the $4.00 in the supermarket.  Having the buying power of tomatoes five for 25 cents, huge avocados for about 8 cents a piece, and big yams four or five for 25 cents.  And by the way, no butter on anything.  I began to really get the concept of what God had put into the Garden of Eden for man to live on for a long and healthy life.  My body never felt so good.  Problems I had before I left like migraines and painful joints were not even thought of with a change of diet.

I began to look at other things that had changed as well.  My focus on people became more intent, their needs and welfare, how to motivate them to become empowered instead of a begging mentality.  Deuteronomy 28 became more than just important; it became a banner to those who really wanted change in their lives.

Pandora, Godzilla, and Cinderella

If I could make a movie out of this week, it would be called Opening Pandora's Box versus Godzilla meets Cinderella.  All the characters were certainly in my life and fully acting out their parts.  Do you ever have those days?  Yeah, I know you do--we all do. But it is what we do with them that matters in the end.

Godzilla was truly an ugly character that was demanding his way, even when it wasn't the best for the team.  Cinderella--oh my, so many were up for the part including me.  You know Cinderella in the cinders cleaning, scraping, sweeping, doing the grunt work, still waiting for the Grand Gala.

The Bible says that the power of life and death are in the tongue, and that was Pandora's Box.  People were responding without thinking to some very critical choices we were in the middle of sorting out.  Frustrated because some things don't move as fast as they think they should, and frustrated that resources aren't as plentiful as desired and needed.  That's when Godzilla erupted by a member of the team.

Sitting down afterward with an associate you has been  my sounding board and armor bearer for almost 15-years patiently listened to me debrief my thoughts and own frustrations.  At the end of the debriefing, we both realized that people are just great individuals going through a process called learning to communicate.  In a previous column I spoke about the need for communication.

We had to communicate through phone lines to calm Godzilla down and demonstrate a Christ-like love and get them on our side so we could move forward.  They are great people, well worth each syllable of word after word.  In any team, we all take turns acting out the various parts of the play.  This week I got to be the director, feeling like Cinderella before the dance.

At the end of the day, we either build a family team, business team, church team, or neighborhood team--it still comes down to working through the words and emotions behind them.  So I have made a choice.  Let me share it with you.

Waiting to Laugh--30 Years

 

Back in the 80's, I worked for a pediatric psychiatric hospital. It was an experience that dramatically changed my life, and my self-perspective, as well as that of my family and environment. I started to look at everything. That was good news for some and extremely bad news for others. One of my daughters asked me recently if I had to make the choices over again, would I, knowing what I know now. I'm sure we all ask ourselves that question at some point in our adult lives. My answer—yes, my choices would have been exactly the same. I realized that even as an adult that was very difficult to understand.

It was enjoyable to express the thoughts and process of those days when she was going from adolescence into her teen years, the misunderstandings, resentments, and outright defiance that surfaced from her camp. Her comments now that she just couldn't handle the emotions of my not budging from a decision that changed her life too. In retrospect, she agreed, the right decision was made and that she now had new emotions to deal with, and a new perspective to evaluate them.

Most people who know my daughter and me say that we are just different ages of the same person, which is dramatic since she lived with her dad during her teen years, defiantly not speaking to me in any way, shape, or form. Correctly stated we are similar in most ways, with a difference based on generational curves.

Our similar way of tackling problems makes going through a similar challenge in her life easier to discuss, while our differences in solving the same issue keeps us growing through communication. When communication shuts down—so do our relationships.

Lee Iacocca and My Noodle Bean Surprise

Have you ever felt a deep down desire to do something radical, something so different yet similar to things that are already around?  That special voice inside of you says how to make it different, how to expand an idea into something else--and you put it aside.

A proverb of Solomon says, "I wisdom swell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions." (8:12 KJV)  Wow, God gives me witty ideas through subtle wisdom.  That is having insight, common sense about something, a wise attitude or course (plan) of action.

As a minister of the gospel, a mom, writer/journalist, a woman, CEO/President of an international organization; so many hats, so many ideas and venues to keep track of and work in each, that sometimes it seems like too many ideas keep coming.  But God said that He doesn't give us more than we can handle.  So I was thinking about people who can handle stuff well.

It is said that Lee Iacocca, who was the brain-person behind the Chrysler turnaround in the 1980s, was not a good manager, but a dynamite leader.  He was able to get major corporations to trust and invest in his ideas, and the government to help.  Now that is a great leader in the world of economic culture.  (He has a book out called Where Have All the Leaders Gone).

He helped turn the corner on the car industry when it was in very bad shape because he was willing to try something radical.  How, you might ask?  When the ideas came, he thought about it, and then acted.  What was this radical feat?  One day he went down to the line floor of the Chrysler plant.  Cars were coming off the line and being checked.  Mr. Iacocca asked the lead engineer how long it would take to make a convertible.  The engineer thought about it for a few minutes and started to verbalize the steps necessary and time line to accomplish the request.  You see, none of the American auto makers were making convertibles at that time.  They weren't popular.

Life With A New Look

God is so good. Where else could you live next to a dinosaur on a pole, curvy, wavy slides, colored bars to walk on, swing on, pull-up on, and multi-shaped "things", as well as get set free from an old perspective? I had thought of our apartment complex as just a great little treasure nestled among ivy covered trees, orange and yellow Tiger Lily at their base, and having the only two blocks of tree-lined section on an eight block road.

Unlike some of the other centers in our city, this one has green grass that is well taken care of, a large parking lot and fenced yard for kids to play in. All day sweet little cherub-like faces go in and out of the daycare center. What a wonderland for imaginations to be ignited.

One day as I was passing the center on my daily walk, six silver seniors were walking into the building. "Hi, are you joining us today?" Each of their expectant faces turned towards me waiting for an answer.

"Joining you for what?" a wee bit surprised as I responded.

"Oh, we come three or four days a week for lunch. Come on. You'll like it here." They giggled and laughed like the girls in high school, playfully pushing on each other, and getting a bit of gingersnap in their walk. I was beginning to wonder what they served in that place. First the children were happy and excited to enter the doors, and now silver seniors!

Hesitantly I yelled back, "Another time". My walk proceeded, but I noticed I wasn't moving as fast as I had been. What had kept me from joining them? I made the excuse, not wearing the right clothes.  But I knew it was an excuse.

An hour later, rounding the corner near the neighborhood pizzeria, I stopped in for a can of Pepsi and a salad. Seated by myself reading the newspaper, another silver senior called a greeting to me. Giving him a kindly greeting, he stood and walked towards me, with two women following. All three were limping and having so much difficulty walking, sitting was not much easier for them.

Seated next to me, they asked, "Are you by your self, married, or widowed?" In shock, my mouth parted slightly wondering who these people were. Then one of the women helped me out a bit with, "At our age, you're going to be one of the three. We just like to know which one."

After chatting with them for a few minutes, I left having made three new friends and a new perspective. "You have to be one of the three." Wow, what a thought. .

Shoe Bags That Make A Difference

A male friend asked me one day why women are so "into shoes"?  Laughing, I replied that I had no idea why, it just is.  Later that evening, the question started pushing other thoughts out of my head; wanting attention.  Opening my closet, there was the evidence--boxes and boxes of shoes, shoe bag on the door, and another one hanging inside the closet.  Most of them had been on sale.  Its okay, you can laugh with me.

 

Taking a serious inventory, I began to separate them into givers and keepers.  Thirty-eight pairs of shoes were just too many, even though I worked in a mid-Manhattan (New York) environment where people actually comment on how many times you wear something.

Methodically they were analyzed by use:  walking, church, event, and work.  And then I remembered a warning my mother had etched forever in my mind.  "Keep some extra, you never know when you're going to need it."  Right then and there, an "ah ha" conviction that some things had to go, and the first was my attitude.

The givers went to a neighbor who could sell them on the street and make some much-needed money for his literal survival.  My closet now more orderly was still sufficiently stocked for a decade of more, but it was a good start.  Satisfied, I shut the door.

Intro: Differences Encouraged

... A weekly journey focusing on our differences as women, wearing many hats, with and without baggage.  Demonstrating that our differences are not only to be encouraged but are also necessary for a well-rounded society.  Join me each week as we explore and embrace each other, women with difference.

By, Susan Storm Smith
Column Posted Weekly, on Thursdays/ Also Group in CWTR Here.