RLM...

RLM= Red Light Moment :)
Well, this past week I was driving through town and, of course, hit the light at Biddle and McAndrews...yes, at the turn from yellow to red...ugh! But I was not in so much of a hurry and I was enjoying the sun's rays coming through my window on the cold fall day- my view turned to the cars passing through their green light and I was looking at them as they drove through...as they each passed, I took notice of the people IN the cars- and had the thought- my red lights are others green lights. No, not deep- but stick with me here...They all have places they want to get to as well- and sometimes we are so focused on the immediate destination we are heading that we lose sight of the bigger picture. I saw a clear view of my perspective- I am selfish! I want green lights all the time- I don't want to be stopped by red lights...EVER! But at times- my red light moments are green lights for people around me.

This applies to my marriage, my parenting, my friendships...etc. It can't always be my way- that is not the way things work. I don't normally think of myself as being self-absorbed (who that is self-absorbed does?) ha!! You know what though- I can be! I am too often about myself, my feelings, my plans.

I have been reading through a book called, "The Royal Way of the Cross" by Fenelon and I can't get passed this chapter. It is a red light moment I am taking for myself because I need to grasp at least a piece of this passage...the title of the chapter is, "On Christian Perfection" and the start of it says:

"Christian perfection is not the strict, wearisome constrained thing many suppose it to be. It requires us to give ourselves to God with our whole heart, and so soon as this is accomplished, whatever we are called upon to do for God becomes easy. Those who are wholly God's are always satisfied, for they desire only that which he wills, and are ready to do whatever he requires."

The following three pages in this chapter have had me captivated for about a week now. There is more than where we are right now. There is more to life than this. Sometimes we grasp it and then too soon we can lose that perspective. Life isn't about perfection or having it all together all the time. It is about loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength AND loving others too. Our church has a sign up when you arrive and it says so simply: Love God, Love People. That is what this side of life is about. I want to stop complicating that! So I am thankful to see my own crossroad. I will probably end up here again sooner than later- but I will continue to realign and begin again on the right path.

Thanksgiving...

As we celebrate one of the most wonderful holidays of the whole year, I hope and pray each of you are blessed beyond measure. It is a wonderful thing to be with people you love and make memories together. It is good to have a holiday that is about giving thanks for the things that we have, the things we may take for granted the rest of the year. I hope each of you will spend time reflecting and giving thanks for the blessings in your life.


Our day is being spent with one of the most wonderful families we know. We are doing something a bit different, but I am excited for it. We are doing a community dinner in the little country town they live in. Five turkeys and five hams will be cooked up and it is a potluck meal- so there will be quite a variety of food to choose from. We are honored to be with them this holiday. I do hope each of you are blessed today, with wherever you are and however you are celebrating.

I am so thankful for my family, friends, and the beautiful place we get to live in! I am thankful for Jesus Christ, and his love, grace, and mercy. I hope you are filled with love today for those around you.

May we also pray for those who are alone today and those who are hurting because they have lost a loved one. Lord may you be their strength today and cover them in your peace that passes all understanding.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever!

Eat, drink, and enjoy the fruit of your labor...

I read through Ecclesiastes a couple of months ago and have been pondering this statement. It is said at least 4 times in the short book and I want to glean the wisdom from this. We spend so much time going from one place to the next. For me, it is making lists and checking them off and then making more lists...like a hamster on a wheel- going round and round.

Yes, I enjoy parts of the labor, but most days I am running around so busy trying to get everything done, that I don't take time to stop and enjoy the journey. Sadly, I will exhaust myself long before I enjoy the day. Now, some days are just going to be non-stop busy- no getting around it- but what about the days we fill with things that aren't as necessary? Where has our day of rest gone? Mine became non-existent for some time. Thankfully, I have a husband who likes to take his day of rest after working so hard all week- so I am forced with learning this. :) It is something I have started teaching my kids too. They always have places to go, people to see, things to do. We are guarding Sunday's- as best we can- to have some quiet time, to reflect on things, to slow down and enjoy life instead of running to keep up.

I don't know where along life's path, I stopped taking time to enjoy life. The worries and stresses catch up with us and we can find that we haven't laughed in weeks or months! Now I have never struggled with the eating and drinking- those just happen naturally and over board at times. Nothing better than a pumpkin spice latte right now with a handful of chocolate covered coffee beans that melt in my mouth as I sip down the coffee. :) Also, I  have been on a big bruschetta kick lately...anyway- food and drink  are easy to fit in, but the "enjoy" is what I have lost. O, I want to enjoy life- moment by moment! It is tough though. So this is just as much me talking to myself as it is encouraging you- find things you enjoy and do them!

These words were written by. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. He experienced so much in his life and had everything a heart desires and this, my friends, is his wisdom on life.


Eat, drink, and enjoy the fruit of your labor- don't spend all of your time go,go,going and do,do,doing that you forget to enjoy,joy,joy living.

Red Lights...

You know those days you have to be somewhere and you are running right on time just a little late and you hit EVERY RED LIGHT in your path! O those moments can be so frustrating. And goodness gracious- we have the longest wait at signals here- no joke! If you don't believe me drive through Medford, OR at some point and you will see I am not exaggerating. The worst is approaching the yellow as it is turning red- you know you just missed your chance to get through the intersection and now you play the waiting game...

It is so much like our life. We are hustling around trying to get from point A to point B and something unexpected brings us to a halt. My kids have witnessed my numerous one-sided conversations talking to the lights as they seem to invade my life when I don't want them too. They will understand someday. :)

I have realized that it is in the "Red Lights" of life we do the most growth, and sometimes we need to give ourselves the red light and be still. Too often we don't choose them though- they happen and we then must learn how to wait...There is strength in rest and waiting. It is hard to wait though. It is hard to have things happening around you and you be at a stand still. It is necessary for our growth and so may we not hinder our growth by fighting these times or making ourselves so busy we miss the lesson.

When the rubber meets the road...

Yes this is the main title for the blog, but it is where I find myself once again...

How do we get through the times in life that seem so hopeless? How do we find the strength to hold on when there seems to be nothing to hold on to? I had a college class today and the question was asked, "What word comes to mind when we think of spirituality?" My first thought was God, but as we had to share with people and I was still pondering it- the word that came to mind was- Hope. That is what my spirituality is- hope in more than this- hope in a God bigger than all of this.

O, how a heart can grieve. If you have never seen the movie "The 5th Quarter"- you should check it out. It is a heart wrencher, so be forewarned- keep kleenex close by. Today a friend of my daughter- lost a cousin. Recently in our community two kids died of cancer, a friend of my mom's just killed himself a week ago. How hard it can be to keep hope going when things seem so horrible around us.

Our family is going through a tough time and yes we can be thankful for many things- we are in good health and are blessed in many ways, but we have some tough things happening- out of our control. It has been a difficult time and today was another unexpected blow. My mind is racing, I am trying to fix it on the Lord and realign my perspective. But let me just be plain honest- it is so stinking hard! It is hard to keep hoping when things keep looking so grim.

So what do we do in these moments? How do we cope with the reality at hand? When the rubber meets the road- it hurts! There is no doubt about it! So I will do the only thing I can do- be still and know that God is God.

Lord I do come before you feeling so broken,

I know there are many people out there that are broken too

and so I lift them up as well right now. I pray for them, for their hurts and struggles.

Please God, we need you to move in a big way.

I feel like nothing short of a miracle is going to change our circumstances.

Please help our hearts to trust you, no matter what happens.

Please help us be thankful for the little things everyday, may we not take anything for granted.

You are bigger than our problems and I choose to trust you.

May we not be consumed with sorrow.

May we not allow our hearts to harden.

May we allow ourselves to hurt and then heal.

Your word says- sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning-

fill us with your joy Lord- not false joy, but pure, true joy.

Please help us be about serving others and showing your love to those we meet.

You are awesome and mighty

May we remember your ways are not our ways

your thoughts not our thoughts.

I choose to surrender to your will.

Amen

Well this is raw footage on the ground of my heart tonight.

Pressed, but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed.

Chickens, Ants, and things that make you go crazy!!

I recently was out of town visitng a friend. We were driving- chatting, catching up and without any warning, out of no where my friend says "O YA!" (or something like that) and hits the pedal to the metal driving quickly toward her fence for her livestock as she is laying on the horn going crazy. My feet swing up to brace me from the dash (yes I know that is not what you are suppose to do upon a collision- but it is my reaction), I am holding on for dear life trying to figure out what in the world was going on. She comes to a sharp halt just inches away from the fence- still yelling and laying on the horn... I am still laughing picturing it! From there she flies out of the driver seat and goes out running...over what?! What happened?! What was this all about?!... Chickens in her yard!

What is it that can drive you crazy?

For me it is ants- those things seem to turn up no matter where I live. It is not due to a lack of cleanliness, I feel like they just like making me crazy! I have researched them, looked up the few verses on them, even DVRed a show on them to figure out why they track me down appear wherever I am at. They show up in our bathrooms and kitchen- come out of outlets, floor vents, and any crack or crevice that exists. I have bombed, had someone come out and re-bomb, and those little critters WILL NOT DIE! I buy terro constantly- heard that is suppose to do the trick- I have terro shaken around my house, terro traps in garage, and liquid terro when they reach indoors. I will just wake one morning and they will be all over the place- o it makes me so furious! I have been known to talk to them- "Why are you back? What do you want from me?"
 My kids think I am nuts and really they about drive me there at times! Why, o why?!

I think there are lessons to learn in everything we experience...so maybe I am a slow learner! haha O it is funny how little things like this can just turn us into mad-women. Speaking of which to finish the chicken story- a little time goes by and we are in the house getting dinner ready and wouldn't you know it a chicken was in the garden, my friend wasted no time...she bolted out the door and I get to the window to watch her chasing that darn thing around until she caught up to it and "helped" that chicken remember where it belonged- on the other side of the fence. :) Good job Kirsten friend.

Share your story...what can take you from your calm day and turn you into a speeding maniac? It may not change anything, but it could bring laughter and a great memory as my friend did to me this weekend. LOL

Love, Hope, and Faith...



Did anyone see the story about the milk cow that gave birth to triplets on the news? I was laying in bed last night as my husband watched the news and it was such a great story. I think they said it is 1 in 8 million that a Holstein cow would have healthy triplets. So the man shares that him and his wife were thinking about what to name them and they came up with: Love, Hope and Faith. As the story wraps up, the news anchor describes each of these calf's personalitites that are displayed on the tv- they are the most awesome definitions for these words:

Love- was humble

Hope- was stubborn

Faith- was fearless

This is what we need to remember when the rubber meets the road in our lives. We need to live these things out. We need to be humble in love, stubborn in not giving up hope, and fearless in faith! I love when we are ministered to through the mundane things around us. I was so blessed by this and hope it blesses you too.

(note- the cows in photo are not the ones from the news story and the only story I found on line about this said love was shy- but I thought our story said humble- so just clarifying this though I am sticking with what I heard.)