Sweet life

My grandmother used to say, "Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last."

I'm always conscious of the fact that I'm running out of time. How about you?

It takes more than wishing

Fact!

 ^"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17

I have so many dreams, and only so many years.

Daily I pray, and work.

And then pray and work some more.

I hope so much to make a difference. Every day when I wake up, I want to make the world a different place by being fully alive.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

I'm tired! But it's a good tired!

Here I am getting in a post in right before the clock strikes midnight. I always blog daily but sometimes I make it right in the nick of time.  I'm just getting home from church, believe it or not. Yes, at midnight!

Tonight we featured an "Italian Night" at Celebration  which was a Friends Night specifically designed for our people to bring new folks. Usually we do our Friends Day outreaches on Sundays but this time we decided to try Wednesday night just for something different.


In addition to all the food and ministry time we also gave away an espresso machine, gift certificates to Olive Garden, a makeup collection, gift certificates for a photo shoot with Dinah-mite, a book, and I donated one of my teapots from my  personal collection for the occasion.


To start the night we had amazing Italian dinner buffet (and some of the most delectable Italian creme cakes EVER) and music. For the ministry portion of the evening I interviewed our children's pastors, Adam and Brenda Tobias. They shared a very powerful testimony. 

Those who came for the first time seemed to just love it.  One man who came for the first time was so inspired by Pastor Adam's words, he wanted to stay and get involved and help clean up and do whatever he could to be a part. Wow! Part of what Pastor Adam shared was about how serving has changed his life and will change anyone's life.

After service we not only cleaned up from the outreach but started clearing the stage to do a new set up for Sunday.

Though exhausted tonight, I'm taking Pastor Adam's words to heart myself. What a blessing it IS to serve.
 

What happens when my mind and body aren't in the same place...

If you need a laugh today, here you go...it's on me.

Saturday we had a Celebration Church event at a restaurant called Der Dutchman in Sarasota. Larry and I arrived first and right before we entered the restaurant I had taken a call on my cell phone. It was church related and presented me with some problems to solve regarding the event. I was stressed and had some logistics  to work out.

I immediately went into "fix it" mode. This is where I start analyzing to fix problems. I sort of go into a fog where I focus on solving issues and tune out everything and everyone around me while I do. Please note, this can be dangerous as I'm about to prove...

As soon as we got inside I had to use the restroom. My husband was waiting for me in the foyer area of the restaurant. I wasn't really focused on actually using the restroom and was still thinking of the things I had to solve.

No one was in the large restroom but me. I headed straight for a stall, and sat down to go. Even sitting on the toilet I was thinking, "okay, I'm going to do this, and then fix this, and yada yada yada.

A moment later I heard the door open and several people came in. There was no conversation but lots of peeing. I know, I know. You're wondering -- "where in the world is this blog post headed?  She must have writer's block when she's got nothing to write about other than people peeing..." Stay with me...

So I quickly finished what I went in there to do, flushed and headed out of the stall. When I came out, I was standing right next to three men who were all peeing at urinals.

Oh. My. Stars.

Men!!!

Peeing!!!

At urinals!!!

I was in the men's room!!!!  

You would think I would handle this discreetly, but nooooooooooooo.

I was panicked!

Not only was I in the wrong place but I lost all sense of discretion. I was so startled, I threw my hands up in the air and shouted, "OH MY GOSH, HOW DID I GET IN HERE???!!!!"

All three men kept peeing and had their necks totally craned around, staring at me. One was looking at me with eyes wide as saucers shrugging his shoulders as if to say, "I don't know psycho lady, you probably just walked in here like we did and now you're screaming like an idiot..."

I ran out the door as fast as I could with my head down.
Of course I didn't even stay to wash my hands. Heavens no! (Thank God for hand sanitizer...)
I ran past the people sitting in the hallway.
Past the book displays.
Past the jars of jelly and sticky buns.
I haven't ran that fast since it was field day in elementary school!!!

My hands were shaking. (And they were still unwashed.) I ran to my husband in the foyer and buried my head in his chest and said, "Oh my gosh Larry!!! I just did a horribly embarrassing thing and...and...and...oh my gosh, how am I going to go inside the restaurant after THIS?!! After this!!!!  

"Calm down," he said. "What's going on?"

I told him.

"What were you thinking?" he said. 

"I know," I said. "I wasn't thinking, that's the point. My mind wasn't in that restroom. I was just focused on all the other stuff."

So with my head still nestled into my husband's chest, I said, "I hope they were getting ready to leave! I hope they already ate and are just using the men's room on the way out.  I  can't bear the thought of having to sit in here and eat in the same room with them after I just made a complete fool of myself. And I can't just leave because we have a church event."

"It will be okay, it will all be okay" he said, soothingly.

As soon as he said that, out of the corner of my eye I saw three men walking by...

After they passed us, I glanced up and I noticed it was the three men from the restroom. They were leaving the restaurant, talking and laughing amongst themselves. They were probably laughing about me. Face it, this is not paranoia.I'm sure they will laugh about their encounter with "psycho woman in the bathroom" for years to come.

MERCY!!!

I pulled out my hand sanitizer from my purse and said, "Larry, the moral of this story is, no matter how many issues you have to solve don't lose the presence of mind to actually take notice of your surroundings."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said. 

Why I'm not partying today

I'm kinda quiet on this Memorial Day.

There's nothing being fired up on our grill outside.

I'm not going to the beach.

And having the day off has quite honestly just made me think about all the work that's going to be piled up waiting for me tomorrow.

But the real reason I'm kind of quiet is because I wrestled with a lot of thoughts about today.

Earlier this week I was putting together two presentations for Memorial Day weekend at church.  A friend of mine in the church who is very sick at this time and being treated at the Moffitt Cancer Center requested that we do Battle Hymn of the Republic. The best rendition that we do of that at Celebration is with a trio arrangement. I corralled a soprano and a tenor and brushed that up and brought it out for this occasion, not just to honor our soldiers but our dear friend.  It broke my heart a few weeks ago when my friend said, "can you please sing it while I'm still here?" My response: "Just to be clear, I'm never giving up on your healing...but yes, we'll do the song." :)

And then I was feeling a tug to sing Janet Paschal's "Another Soldier's Coming Home". I decided to put together a Power Point presentation to go with it that included lots of photos of soldiers and their families and war and military funerals. Working with it for hours in preparation got my thoughts churning.

If I was a wife or a Mom whose husband, son or daughter lost their life in military service, how would I feel about today and people's typical responses?

I suspect I might bristle at the very least when people quipped about their 3-day weekend, and the steaks on the grill, and their time at the amusement park with the family, and their day off at the beach, and their "it-doesn't-get-any-better-than-this!" statuses on Facebook.

So, putting myself in these women's shoes, I decided not to do that this year.


Yes, I know it's because their husbands or children gave their lives that we can do all these wonderful things on this holiday. And I'm truly grateful.

But after looking at hundreds of pictures of real (not models or stock photos) wives and moms grieving at funerals, and little children carrying folded flags, I just can't be so cavalier about what my family and I are going to enjoy today. I'm thinking about a wife or Mom who is looking through her old photos today, or going to a grave site. I'm giving consideration to all the tears she's going to shed today because there's still an empty place at the table. 

It makes me sad. And my thoughts and prayers are directed today at all those who have lost someone special to them. Because that ache never goes away.

Perhaps the best way we can honor those who have passed is to pray for their loved ones who are still living without them. That's what God spoke to me this week.

Won't you join me in prayer for a few moments today, for those who have suffered loss?
 

Want to make a difference?

If you woke up today thinking, "I'd like to do something to change someone's life..." look no further.

Many of my friends are aware that my sister, Shari Meekins, is very involved in missions. In fact, her life's work for quite a number of years was with Samaritan's Purse.

At this time her desire is to return to Haiti, where she spent a year working for Samaritan's Purse, after the tragic earthquakes there. This time she will go back to minister with Samaritan's Feet, an amazing ministry also based in Charlotte, NC. The goal is to head there July 21, where she will partner with Samaritan's Feet and Convoy of Hope, to wash and anoint the feet of impoverished children and fit them with a brand new pair of shoes!

Right now all that's needed to get Shari to Haiti is $675.00.  Some of you know Shari well, and some of you only know her through me talking about her. I am not exaggerating when I say she is the most giving, forgiving, and compassionate person I know. And I know a lot of people!

Whether you know her or you don't, can I just tell you that giving anything toward this would be planting your seed into excellent soil?

If you'd like to make my day and Shari's too by supporting her to go back to Haiti, go here.You can safely and securely give there on line. Or, if you want to write a check and send it through regular U.S. Mail, you can follow the directions at this link.

Thanks for your prayerful consideration in giving to change lives in Haiti through one of the most amazing women of God that I know.
 

What a Difference a Day Makes!

The past two days I've blogged about going through a big unexpected change, and handling it properly.

I am a really transparent person and loathe talking in generalities or in some kind of veiled manner. But this is an issue where I'm expected to keep confidentiality. I will just share a brief testimony today without giving specifics and I hope this builds your faith.

On Thursday morning I received a call that indicated that my day-to-day life was going to change in a big way. This came out of the blue. The news was such that the person calling asked me to sit down before they went any further.

I sat down.
I listened.
I was shocked.

I received this news and slowly began to process it.  The person calling actually said, "Do you need a minute to just breathe and take this in?" I did.

After a moment, I told the person who called me, "well, my life and it's direction is in God's hands, and I trust Him. I will receive this as being from God. I know He is good. I will begin to process this change." I thanked them for calling and expressed my appreciation. I know that sounds odd, to thank someone and express gratefulness when they have delivered sad news. I felt led to do so even though they were sharing something that would affect me, my family, and a whole lot of other people. 

I got off the phone and just began to thank God. Yes, I did shed some tears. This is normal and to be expected for any of us who feel sad. Scripture indicates even Jesus Himself felt sadness and wept. But in the midst of my disappointment I thanked God, for whatever He was doing that I didn't understand. I told Him over and over, "I trust You. I trust You with my life and all that is a part of it, Lord." I just felt led to thank Him and praise Him and declare His goodness.

A little over 24 hours later, the same person called back again. This time letting me know that everything had shifted for me. God had completely turned the tables overnight! Their exact words were, "what a difference a day makes." 

I'm rarely speechless. This was one of those rare times. I responded, "I don't even know what to say!" I had to call them back to have a conversation once I got my bearings.

Some of you reading this are going through trials and things seem unfair, or maybe it even seems like you are under a curse or some kind of black cloud. Can I just speak a gentle word into your heart...whatever you are going through, thank and praise the Lord. It might seem like a tragedy but you never know how God will bring good out of it. He can take what looks like a tragedy and turn the tables so that things are even better than before. He will strengthen you, grow  you, increase you, bless you.

Whatever you are going through, declare His goodness. He is a good God. He loves you. Be confident in that love. Declare it no matter what your eyes see. No matter what your ears hear.

I am a praying person. If you've read my blog or my Facebook longer than a minute you probably know that.  Today I am standing in agreement for every person reading this post who needs a miracle. I am declaring His goodness over your life!

What a difference a day makes! What a difference a Savior makes!

I love you all and thank you for reading.
 

3 Keys to Handling Unexpected Changes

 
           You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler.  ~Denis Waitley

Early yesterday morning before I left for the church office, a big change was suddenly thrown into my life.

I realize seasons of change in life are the rule not the exception. And I like what Waitley said that change is the rule, but not our ruler.

While I was processing this change I found great comfort in a few things...

Getting out of the bathtub and seeing that Max and Maddie had taken up residency in mine and Larry's bed, with Max's paw wrapped around her...always warms my heart. Larry just had to take a photo even though we've seen it so many times...

Prayer in the sanctuary that I customarily lead every Thursday morning at Celebration...

Reading Jesus Calling...

Completing all my customary church ministry duties...

Coming home and riding my bike for a longer time in weather that couldn't have been more perfect...noticing on my ride that all the crepe myrtles are blooming...

Having Larry decide to cook dinner last night...he made barbecue chicken on the grill and mashed potatoes (my favorite comfort food) and corn...with fresh watermelon for dessert...

Sharing the events of the day with he and Savanna over dinner...

Going outside until the sunset and digging in the dirt in my yard...

3 things help me when I'm dealing with unexpected changes:

1) Keeping positive routines - by this I mean things like devotional time, having dinner as a family, etc. I've found this to be important in order to keep my spiritual, physical and emotional equilibrium.

2) Self care - it's important to not get into "chaos mode" when stuff happens and let things like exercise go by the wayside. It's more important than ever when navigating change. Self care gives us the strength to weather changes.

3) Connection - I called a friend. Changes are much easier to walk through when you don't go them alone. 

Changes are going to come but they don't have to rule you.  Remind the change that through it all, there are some things you're still in charge of!

What helps you move through unexpected change?


 

Do you really trust God with your life?

Changes happen in our lives all the time whether we like it or are ready for it. Sometimes we get angry about changes that are ultimately gifts from God although it doesn't seem like it at the time.

Peace comes to me when I pray for God to keep things from me that may seem like blessings but would ultimately destroy me. I consider things I don't receive as being in that category and move forward toward His greater blessing.

I've learned through experience there are times I have railed out at God over a change and in retrospect He was protecting me, sparing me, maybe even saving my life!

I'm learning to trust Him on the front end instead of waiting for the back end of something all the time to say, "oh, okay, thaaaat's what you were doing." 

A change came into my life today. I wasn't expecting it. I'm still catching my breath.

And I am blessing the Lord.
Blessing Him with every fiber of my being.

He is a good God.
I can trust Him with every detail of my life.
Greater things are yet to come!

He is already in the future waiting to show me around.

What I learned from wiping out on the sidewalk

A lot of the leaders that I'm friends with admit to me that they are really guilty of not taking their day off every week.  Wisdom dictates that leaders pace of themselves and allow time for refueling and nourishment of our body and soul.

I learned this lesson in a painful way last Saturday. I'm not even going to post a picture of the aftermath of this because quite honestly it will gross you out.  I did reveal the injuries to my friend Candy and her repulsed reaction gave me pause to think about sharing an illustration photo with the blogosphere.

I woke up on Saturday, ate breakfast and rode my bike. Then I set about working around the house. After doing housework I went outside to the yard. During the hottest part of the day I worked for many hours, weeding and other things.

I skipped lunch.

I drank a small cup of water, which any rational thinking person would have realized was not enough. 

I was tired, hungry and thirsty, but addicted to accomplishment. I would finish a section of the yard and think, "one more thing"... and take care of that. When I was done with the one more thing, I'd talk myself into just one more thing. And on it went. 

When it was early evening, my husband came out and suggested I come inside, get cleaned up and we go to dinner. We were going to one of my favorite places, Vallartas, for Mexican fare.

I knew he was ready for dinner, not to mention I was absolutely famished so I came in and quickly showered and got ready to go. All was well until we were walking in the parking lot (still in the Florida heat - the sun had not set yet) and as we approached the door to Vallartas... splat!!! There I went, down on the sidewalk.

Yes, I'm serious. I am usually holding Larry's hand on these occasions but at that moment I wasn't. He helplessly watched as I went tumbling forward and lost control,banging myself up pretty good.  

I know this about myself. I know that I can't go all day without eating and not feel at least a little shaky. And certainly I can't stay out in the heat all day and not drink anything. What in the Sam Hill was I thinking?  That was insane.

So my knees were totally scraped up and bleeding and I was laying there. Larry helped me to a bench outside the restaurant and, got me a tall glass of ice water. After drinking about 32 ounces of water, and eating some chips and salsa, I was okay again.  Thankfully I keep things like wipes and bandaids in my purse. (The kids always tease me about how EVERYTHING is in my purse. Dustin even did a skit at church once about "everything that can be found in my Mom's purse." Just want to point out, all the things I have in there do come in handy.)

The point of this post is that many times as leaders we get addicted to progress and talk ourselves out of rest. We keep going just one more hour or one more day or one more week without a rest, because so far we haven't crashed.


 We put our Sabbath day off for things we think are more important than rest.  All the while many of us are dealing with people in crisis. If anyone needs to make sure they are replenished, it's crisis caregivers.  But we think, "so far, so good" and  talk ourselves into giving up our sacred time for replenishment in order to accomplish that one more thing. If we're not careful we'll have a spiritual, emotional and physical splat on the sidewalk.

My boo-boos are slowly healing up but are still so sore. I have been reminded all week long of why I'm never going to go that long without replenishment again! And I'm applying it to the other aspects of my life as well. 

Being sidewalk pizza is not fun. Not fun at all.