A Love Letter for Joey Tuesday, Aug 26 2008

I am so emotional.  I just can’t believe that my Joey turned 1 yesterday!  It is shocking.  Yes, there have been many, many moments of life in this year, but, WOW, it has all gone by so fast!  He is absolutely so precious, and just full of life and laughter that can power up my whole day!  He is a constant reminder of God’s love, His grace, His promises, and His sense of humor!  Joey is so sweet.  He is (almost) always happy.  He lights up when he sees me or Jason.  He is beyond beautiful.  I can’t think about him without feeling so undeserving to have such a treasure entrusted to me.  There is no way I deserve him, but I am so thankful to have him.  I know that time flies, and so I want to treasure each moment and to live each day with him to the fullest.

 

I am unworthy, Lord, but still You bless me…

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Dreams Can Be Misleading Wednesday, Aug 13 2008

I think we all grow up with dreams.  I think we all also grow up with someone telling us that God has put a dream within us and that we must always strive to achieve His will for our lives.  I have recently been realizing, however, that I think somewhere along the line, our dreams get tangled in a web of our own personal desires for fame and selfish ambition, and suddenly, self-promotion and God’s dream for us have become one and the same in our minds.  This can’t be right.  God’s desires for us are good, yes, but He is not about our fame.  He is all about His name being glorified, and so if I take a step back and realize my dreams have become all about me getting some sort of level of recognition, I think I’ve missed the boat!  If I am doing things for any other reason beside trying to bring God glory, I’m off.  

Today, I am trying really hard to untangle my selfish flesh from out of the beautiful picture of God’s true dream for my life.  Ouch, this hurts.

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The Office vs. Arrested Development Thursday, Aug 7 2008

I’m recently discovering the brilliant, Arrested Development.  The writing?  Genius.  The acting?  Genius.  It is smart, smart, smart, and I love it!  It has made me want to draw comparisons, however, to my all-time favorite, The Office.  I don’t think it has dethroned that as my #1, although, they really are almost too different to compare.  Let’s take a poll.  What are your thoughts???

 

                              vs.                            

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A Self Problem Saturday, Aug 2 2008

So many of my problems can be solved very simply – by a shift of focus off of myself.  I have a self problem.  I put myself first WAY too often.  As I was thinking about that, I thought, “Lord, help me to put others first.”  Right?  Well, sort of.  When you go to the Word, the Lord says to put Him first, then others, then yourself.  Wow, my priorities sure have been out of whack.  Care for others will flow naturally out of putting God first, because He is in the people business.  A nice added bonus is that a lot of my “problems” will go away when I realize my priorities correctly, simply because I take the focus off myself, thus removing my “magnifying glass of selfishness.”  The cure for my self problem is to put God first, let Him lead me in care for others, and then watch as my problems become less and less a priority.

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The Stevie Wonder Experience and Fresh Perspective Friday, Jul 18 2008

The trip to Wisconsin and the Stevie Wonder concert were just too excellent.  I was really, really apprehensive about leaving Joey for 3 days, and got super emotional as we were leaving him.  What is it about airports that always make me emotional?  The coming?  The going?  Saying good-bye to friends and family?  Anyway, I wanted to enjoy our first trip alone together since Joey’s arrival, so I decided to enjoy every moment.  

We had so much fun!  Thanks to the help of my trusty GPS navigation system (Georgina is her name), we were able to navigate around Wisconsin in our rental car and find lots of fun things to do.  We had a lovely hotel right near the airport and of course, being us, found several lovely shopping areas.  We had no plans other than the concert on Thursday night, so it was so nice to just be able to roam around a new city at our leisure and find things along the way.  The best of which wound up being a tour of the Jelly Belly factory!  Yummy!  

The concert was just beyond words.  We wound up sitting in the 6th row…yes, that’s right, the 6th row…A-MAZING!  He came out guided by his daughter and proceeded to sing hit after hit after hit after hit for two hours!  It was just unreal!  He is even more mind-blowing in concert than on anything I’ve ever heard of his that’s recorded- WOW!  His daughter Aisha Morris, who is the actual baby you hear on the “Isn’t She Lovely” opening, is now 30 years old and sings back-up for her dad.  She also got to sing a song on her own and was just amazing!  A total throw-back to a Billie Holiday-esque singer.  It was just unreal.  We all danced around like idiots, not caring because Stevie’s music is just too good to listen to from your seat.  

 

Yeah, we were that close.

 

 

There’s something about getting away for a few days that just makes the world seem bigger.  When you’re home all the time, life seems to get small somehow.  As if your realm of reality is all there is.  When you get to step outside of that for a little while, you’re able to find a new perspective and somehow, things just seem better.  Your HUGE problems from home don’t seem all that bad, because you realize there is a whole big world out there.  People everywhere you go are dealing with things just like you are.  We are all on a journey, and the only way to get through is to rest in the promise of God’s Word.  This trip made me realize that I needed a re-wiring to some of my thought processes.  I’m so glad I went.  I’m so thankful for my incredible husband who made one of my dreams come true.

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wow… Monday, Jun 23 2008

“Maybe it’s time to stop creating God in your image and let Him create you in His.”

-Mark Batterson

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Stop defining me… Friday, Jun 20 2008

Just because my past included an illness, does not mean my future does.  Just because you see my chart and there’s a big, scarlet “C” on it, don’t think you’ve got me figured out.  Stop looking at me through the eyes of my history, and start seeing me through the eyes of my Creator.  I am whole- mind, body, and soul.  No single event in my life has or will take place that my Father does not oversee.  He holds me in His hand.  He is stronger than you.  I can dream again, and you can’t stop me.

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Life List Monday, Jun 16 2008

Okay, so Wednesday was my 26th birthday- and YES, I have officially declared 26 STILL as the mid-20s, with the outline as follows:  20-23 as early 20s, 24-26 is mid-20s, and 27-29 is late 20s.  I am still free to change this next year, however, because as Bobby Brown put it so poetically, “It’s my prerogative!”  Anyway, I don’t have an official life list per se, but if I was forced to sit down and write one, something that would come VERY close to the top would be “See Stevie Wonder LIVE in concert.”  This is a hard thing to accomplish, because Stevie Wonder, being the musical legend that he is, does NOT tour a lot, and was not even scheduled to tour this year at all.  My AMAZING husband, however, was able to discover that Stevie Wonder will be performing the opening night concert of SummerFest on Thursday, June 26 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and we have tickets…AMAZING tickets!!!  

I was so floored when he gave them to me (the night before my birthday because we both can’t stand to keep a good secret!) and shocked, because he tricked me by putting them inside of a purse (a gorgeous new purse, might I add!) posing as the sole birthday gift!  I am beyond excited!  It is truly going to be a once-in-a-lifetime concert, and I am predicting a shed tear or two on that night, just at the sheer realization of a dream-come-true.  Stevie’s music is the soundtrack of my life.  It touches my soul and brings a smile to my face.  I can’t wait!!!  

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A Day for Mothers Sunday, May 11 2008

Today I am celebrated as a mother for the first time on Mother’s Day.  Well, sort of.  I mean, I was pregnant with Joey last year on Mother’s Day, so I was technically a mother, but I actually have a child this mother’s day.  It still seems extremely crazy at times to be someone’s mom.  I remember thinking when I was younger that my parents were so wise and old and so…parental.  Will Joey be looking at me like that soon??  Does 25 seem soooooo old to someone who is a mere 8 months old?  AH!  When does this happen?  So many times when I think of myself, I still see the baby of the family who is a nice, perennial 17 or so.  Crazy how we grow up, take on responsibility, and become the people we think of as “adults.”  

I also can’t help but think of those who have lost their mothers on a day like today.  As soon as I think of that, though, I am reminded of the awesome God we serve that knows exactly what we need and is able to know how to meet our heart’s desires long before we even voice them to Him.  He provides those people that become our family, though not connected by blood, but by love.  So celebrate “Mothers and Others” day, as a reminder of the people that God has put in your life that mean so much, because they were there in just the right place, at just the right time, being used by God to fulfill a need in your life.

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Super Spiritual Vs. Super Practical Friday, Apr 25 2008

The dichotomy of these two concepts has often been a place where I find myself in the middle of, wondering, confused, and agitated by the stark difference of choosing to live completely one way or another.  For example, when bad things happen in our lives, as they inevitably will, the super spiritual person can comfort themselves in the wake of all their questions of “why?”, by chalking it up as “that’s of the enemy, warfare, etc.”  This can be fine and encouraging, because we know that in no way did God do this bad thing to us, and we just decide to get mad at the devil.  The problem comes, however, when we see no immediate deliverance from this “warfare” and we begin to find ourselves angry with God, wondering why He is not stepping in, since He is obviously greater than the enemy.  

The super practical person in the same situation may have the upper hand in some ways, reasoning that “this is just life,” and not attaching any blame to God and His actions or lack of actions.  Interesting point, however, comes when something truly good happens.  Is that now something to thank God for, or just another thing that has “happened.”  It certainly can diminish the joy of the victories that a super spiritual thinker gets to celebrate.  But then how does a super spiritual believer deal with what seems like unanswered prayer?  

 

Proverbs 20:24

“A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?” 

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