No Bigger Blessing

One of the most treasured blessings that I have in my life, is seeing my children love the Lord. This week especially, as I am having some time to relax, I was thanking God for being such a huge part of my children's lives.

My oldest daughter went to Chesapeake, Virginia a couple weeks ago, on a World Changers Missions Trip with our church youth group. She went last year as well and had a fabulous experience, but apparently it was a super cali-fragilistic type of fabulous this year!

She has not stopped talking about the trip; about how much time they spent singing powerful praise and worship music, while raising their hands high in the air as they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit; about the lives they touched while doing manual labor to repair the homes of people who are much less fortunate; about the special friendships she made with kids from all over the US; about how many of her friends rededicated their lives to Christ; about how she felt so close to God and so in tune with how important He was in her life.

Last week during Wednesday night church service, all of the youth stood up on stage and told the congregation how much the trip meant to them, and what God had done in their lives over that one week period. I was awestruck at the emotional maturity, and the spiritual maturity that these youth expressed. One found acceptance after struggling with feeling abandoned by her natural parents; one found forgiveness; many found redemption; one rediscovered how much his younger brother meant to him; many found Jesus; and they all found a new, powerful, and on fire relationship with Christ.

Wow! My heart was overflowing, and so were the tears in my eyes! At first I started thinking, "I have done a great job raising this precious girl!", but then I had to admit, that it was not my own doing at all. God had grabbed hold of my daughter's heart when she was 7 years old and had been working in her life ever since.

Yes, my husband and I have taken her to church every Sunday of her life, tried to be Godly role models, said bedtime prayers, and taught Godly lessons through all the experiences that we dealt with every day - but God deserves all the credit.

How humbling it is to know that the God of the universe cares about my babies, and is watching after them, day by day, and gradually pulling them into a place where their hearts will love Him and their souls will know Him.

My middle child, Kaitlyn, attended She Speaks with me during that week, participating in the Next Generation track. She has shared so many stories with me of all the wonderful truths they learned that weekend; how Rebecca Ingram Powell anointed each of their heads with oil as she told them the Godly meaning of their names; all the worship songs they sang; how they saw a small but miraculous act of God take place while listening to the speaker; how they learned about the importance of modesty, good manners, and even how to apply natural looking makeup; and the great friends she made from all over the US, one of which accepted Jesus for the first time that weekend - AMEN! Kaitlyn also accepted Christ at a young age and I can already see how God is working on her. I am so thankful when He allows me to catch little glimpses of the passions that He has put on her heart.

My son attended VBS at our church last week, and came home singing the motto - know the truth, speak the truth, live the truth - music to my ears!

It is so amazing how different each one of my children are, how each of them is gifted in different ways and how they each have special passions in their heart that differ from the other - like a love for babies, animals, music, devotions, singing, friendships, guitar, piano, sports. As any mom could attest to, it is a true testament of how God makes us all unique - but all with a space in our heart that can only can be filled by the one true and almighty Savior.

How humbling it is to know that the God of the universe cares enough my babies to take hold of their hearts at a young age, and continue to open up doors for them to learn to love Him more.

And how super-cali fragilistic amazing it is to know that He loves you and me and yours just the same!

Has God done something wonderful in the lives of your kids? Can you see him at work in their hearts?

Fun Time!

It has been many months since we planned our vacation, but it's finally here! Unfortunately my husband had some work to do early in the week and will not be coming until Wednesday, but this afternoon we safely arrived to the beautiful Ocean Isle Beach in NC. We came with my husband's family whom I adore, and we are excited about a relaxing week at the beach.

Just seeing the surf and smelling the salty air lifts my spirit in a way that only two other things can do - Christmas, and the mall! But seriously, I always have such wonderful quality conversations with God while I'm at the beach, it just soothes my soul and helps me feel more peace than I seem to be able to achieve at home, where all the hustle and bustle of every day life looms around every corner.

I know God is going to share some great things with me this week, I'll keep you posted!

PS Be on the lookout for my P31 devotion this week, running on Thursday July 3rd - this was a beach inspired devotion that God laid on my heart while jogging along the shore one early sunny morning this past spring.

If you are not signed up to receive the P31 daily devotions in email, visit www.proverbs31.org, and click on Encouragement For Today to either read the devotions or subscribe to them.

Keeping Focused On The Harvest

It has been a very busy week! I came home from She Speaks to a flurry of activity, including keeping my sister's two children earlier in the week while she was still at the hospital, catching up on lots of housework and laundry, cleaning out emails, taking all the kids back and forth to Vacation Bible School, playing a couple tennis matches, returning phone calls, meeting the HVAC repairman because our AC broke over the weekend, and entertaining a houseful of company last night! All the while, feeling a little overwhelmed, stressed, busy, and at times, under appreciated.

I had been feeling a little distant from my husband lately, and made sure to tell him how we had not spent anytime together lately and that I wanted our relationship to be a priority. I reviewed how many weeks it had been since we had had a date night or alone time, and his answer was simply this: "I've been right here."

My eyes were opened. At that moment, I realized he was right. I started thinking about the past few weeks and realized how busy I had been. I had spent a weekend in Virginia at a speaking event, had spent many hours and days over the past few weeks with my sister in the hospital, had been mommy to my own kids plus her two kids, and then spent five days at She Speaks. I had been absent a lot, without really even taking inventory of my absence.

Today I received an email from one of the ladies that was in my She Speaks speaker evaluation group. She sweetly wrote that God had laid me on her heart, and given her a bible verse to share with me. The verse was Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Although I felt so blessed that God had taken time to lay little 'ol me on someone else's heart, I found myself worrying about why He had given her that verse to share with me. I started thinking, "Lord, have I not been serving you enough lately? Don't you remember how hard I worked for you over the 5 days of She Speaks.... oh yeah, and what about all those speaking events I have had this year, spreading your love and encouraging women to draw closer to you? Have I had a negative attitude? Do I look or act weary in my service to you?"

I began fretting over my inabilities and insecurities, and wondering how I had let God down. Keeping in mind, that I knew there were plenty of examples that God could come up with! So I did the only thing I could do - pray! I asked God to let me know what it was He was trying to say to me through this precious new sister in Christ.

Then He laid the answer on my heart.....my first ministry is to my family. I need not get weary being the devoted wife and mom that He has called me to be. I need not get weary devoting my time to my sister who needs special care and attention right now after surgery. I need not grow weary doing double duty as a mom, loving on and caring for her two children while she is recovering. I need not grow emotionally weary, worrying about my loved ones and their future. I need not grow weary taxiing my kids from place to place, doing housework, etc., etc., etc. God called me to minister to my family, through my every day responsibilities, and honestly, I do consider them a privilege. God wants me to a light for Him in my home, not just for everyone else. LOVE being a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend - and I need to remember that every day - even when things make me feel a little weary!

Have you every felt weary of doing the things that God has called you to do? Tell me about it!

HE Did It Again

Well, He did it again. I wasn't surprised, just enamored. I wasn't shocked, just blessed. I wasn't confused, just amazed. I wasn't worthy, just granted grace.

The Proverbs 31 annual She Speaks conference took place this past weekend, and once again, it was beyond amazing. Once again, God left me speechless.

Although I was missing my children and husband after five days of living at the hotel, part of me did not want to leave. I felt a sadness start coming over me as I packed my clothes and headed out to the car.

For you see, I had spent the entire weekend with my precious team of P31 sisters, and I knew it would be another year before we all got to be together again.

I had raised my arms in praise to my sweet Lord during all the amazing worship songs that we had sung.

I had watched with tears in my eyes, as women who were broken, discouraged, and desperate for redemption, kneeled at the foot of the big wooden cross, pouring out their burdens to Christ, and dropping the enemy's shackles to the floor that had kept them in bondage for many years.

I had been in the presence of beautiful, talented God-fearing women from 42 states and 3 countries, and was sure I had heard the sound of wings from the army of angels which hovered our ballroom.

I had been swimming in the sea of God's presence throughout the whole weekend, drinking in every single moment, and now that it was over, my heart longed to take that feeling home with me. I found myself wishing that I could bottle up that passion for Christ and save it for a rainy day. I was speechless, and I knew that no words would be sufficient to help other people feel or understand the spiritual high that I was on.

I sighed, and told myself that I would just have to accept that all good things must come to an end eventually..... or do they?

When I returned home today, things looked much the same. My husband was on the couch watching a golf tournament. My son was playing games on his Wii. My daughters were telling me about all the happenings of their weekend (one had been on mission trip in Virginia, and the other had been at She Speaks in the Next Generation track, so they had lots to tell me!). The sink was full of dishes. The laundry room was full of dirty clothes. My inbox was packed with emails. Bills were on the counter.

Heavy sigh. Reality check. Same ol, same ol... or was it?

Every year, God does an amazing work in my heart at She Speaks - through the powerful words and scriptures that our P31 speakers share in the sessions throughout the weekend; the wealth of knowledge that I gain about speaking and writing from our breakout sessions; the sweet, new friends that I make; the hearts that I have the privilege of praying for; the tears that I have the privilege of wiping; the lives that I see interrupted, of countless women who thought they came to learn about speaking and writing, but instead walked away with an incredibly new outlook on what God desires for them to do in in their life.

Things did look the same on the outside, but I was changed on the inside.

I considered how each year after She Speaks, I am left speechless. But then it hit me...God does not want me to be speechless - He wants me to shout to the mountaintops! God wants me to share with my husband the spiritual passion that I received over the weekend, even if he didn't run to the door welcoming me home with showers of hugs and kisses. God wants to change my heart so that I can be a more patient and loving mom and wife, even if the kids started having squabbling as soon as I walked in the door. God wants me to be compassionate even when I see dirty dishes and laundry. He wants me to share what He has done - despite reality.

Isaiah 41:5-11 (NIV)
Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, "I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon. And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images."Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it ,You islands, and those who dwell on them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.

The Lord, once again, has given me a new song. His desire is to interrupt my normal, same 'ol, same 'ol, every day life, so that I can take advantage of the privilege He has given me to help build His kingdom. I want be used by Him, not be speechless. I want to share Him with others, not keep Him in a bottle.

Take time to remember who He is today, but don't be speechless.

I am ever so thankful that He did it again.

Sunshine During The Rain

My sister had spent yet another week in the hospital, while the doctors scratched their heads and had lots of meetings, trying to figure out how and why she had such a severe infection after her abdominal surgery. They told us that not doing the surgery created risks by allowing the infection to continue, but doing the surgery also created risks because it would expose new tissues to the infection. It was a lose-lose situation, and a hard decision to make. But around noon on Saturday, they came in and whisked her away to surgery.

The doctors completed the surgery in just over three hours, which was supposed to take 30 to 45 minutes. As my family and I waited in the waiting room for hours, anxiously searching the halls for any sign of a doctor to come and give us an update, all we could was pray. The doctor finally appeared, and said it was worse than what they had expected, in fact, it was the worst internal infection he had seen in all his years of practicing medicine. (Gee thanks for telling us that doc.) He explained that she would need at least two or three more weeks in the hospital, and that things would probably get worse before getting better. He made sure we understood that her road to recovery would be long, bumpy and hard. We all stood there crying, hearts filled with worry, not really knowing what to say.

It was a few hours later when she left recovery and I was just about to go and visit her in her room. I was sitting there with my head in my hands, rubbing my red eyes, trying to find an ounce of composure and strength to go stand by her bedside. Just then, another family entered the room, talking and making phone calls. I didn't pay them much attention. Then a few minutes later, I heard the word "Jesus" loud and clear. Just the sound of Jesus's name made my heart skip a beat, and felt like music to my ears. My eyes looked up and I saw a sweet, white haired older woman, with beautiful eyes, sitting in a wheelchair. Then I overheard her telling her family members how she just hoped that the Lord would allow her to keep her precious husband a little bit longer here on earth. But despite her worry, her face was glowing with joy.

Before I knew it, she was looking straight at me, and saying "Hey Honey! How are ya!". I quietly said I was fine and left it at that. But then, she proceeded to roll herself over to where I was sitting, and began talking to me about her husband, how he was the matriarch of their family and such a wonderful Godly man. She asked me some questions about why I was there, and began encouraging me, reminding me of beautiful truths from the Bible, and sharing God's love with me.

I recall her saying, in a soothing and gentle voice, "child - there is just no way to fathom how much God loves us, and it is so important for us to remember that truth in times like these". The more she talked, I found myself wishing I could pull out a piece of paper and write down her every word, but I just sat there and let her sweetness pour out on me. Then she said something I will never forget. She said, "honey - you are so sweet, and young, I just hope God blesses your sister. And if He can only save one person today, I hope it is her, because my husband is 85 years old, and has lived a long and fruitful life."

I was stunned at her selflessness. I was shocked that she would even consider the thought of putting a total stranger's life ahead of the life of her dear husband. I didn't even know how to respond to such a heartfelt and Godly expression of love. She took my hands, and my mother's hands who was sitting there with us, and she prayed for my sister out loud. Afterwards, she encouraged us some more and told us not to worry, and before we left, I told her I wanted to pray for her, and we all held hands again and prayed for her husband, Ernest.

I walked out of that waiting room knowing that I had seen Jesus.

Today my sister is still in a lot of pain and still has a long difficult journey to travel towards recovery, but she got two good reports today, and that is a praise. It was an answered prayer, and I am waiting in anticipation to see what prayers He answers next.

I found out what floor that Mrs. Sykes husband was in, and after visiting with my sister for a while, my daughter Kaitlyn and I went to look for her. I found her in the ICU waiting room, standing there with that same joyful glow on her face, happily talking with another stranger. I had brought her a small vase of fresh gardenias from my back yard, and as the smell permeated the room, her eyes grew wide. I asked if she remembered me, and she smiled and said yes. I thanked her for her kindness last night and gave her a hug, and her eyes welled up with tears, as she poured out more encouragement and compliments that lifted my spirits. She doted on my daughter, how pretty she was, how sweet she was, and how wonderful it was to know that she loved the Lord. Then she told my daughter something very profound - she said, with the way the world is today, many kids never hear God's Word or set foot in a church, and that Kaitlyn might be the only Bible that some kids ever get to read. Kaitlyn smiled and told her thank you, and it opened up an opportunity for me to talk to my daughter about the importance of being Jesus to others.

I can only hope to be just like Mrs. Sykes one day. To become such a strong woman of faith, such a lover of people, so selfless that I would put even strangers ahead of myself. To become a woman that despite hardships and pain, my face will radiate joy and God's love. To become someone that leaves other people feeling as if they have seen Jesus, through the light that shone through me.

PS Mrs. Sykes said her husband was doing much better today, so I know that God sees Ernest too, and has His angels hovering around him.

Counting My Blessings

Well, I have survived the week so far. God did an amazing thing in my heart today. For some reason, everything I looked at or experienced, I counted a blessing. Now for someone who has felt stuck in a rut lately, wondering why everything goes wrong at once and what plans God has for life's challenges, this was a great accomplishment!

Last night we had horrific storms here in Charlotte, with clapping thunder and booming lightning. Huge trees were cut in half and fallend down in my neighborhood, just missing beautiful homes. But my house and my family were safe this morning, and I awoke to a beautiful ray of sunshine across my bed.

I had a house full of five kids this morning, between my 3 and my sister's 2 children. For some, that could sound like a nightmare, but I awoke to the sounds of laughter and playing. I was blessed to be able to provide a happy home for my kids, but also for my neice and nephew to stay while their mom was in the hospital.

I went jogging this morning in the beautiful warm sunshine, and thanked God for my health.

I had to take my daughter to the orthodontist because she lost her top retainer, which costs $120.00 to replace, but I was thankful I could afford to pay for it.

I drove up to visit my sister in the hospital, but was blessed by being the person who was able to brighten her day by bringing her children there to spend time with her. My spirits were lifted as we laughed and talked, and I realized that she was feeling a little better today.

I went to the doctor with my husband about his injured hand, and was reassured by the doctor that after four to six weeks, he should have full mobility of his hand again. He was bummed he can't play golf for a while, but I can live with that (smiles). I thanked God for the wonderful husband that He gave me and that his injury was no worse than it was.

I drove to church this evening in a raging wind, rain, lighting, and hail storm, to help out with a special children's program that my friend and fellow speaker (Van Walton) happened to be doing at our church. I was blessed by the smiles of the children and how Van touched their hearts with her special story of her dog Air and how Christ calls us all into His presence.

And last but not least, I was immensely blessed by the dozens and dozens of comments and emails from so many of you, letting me know that you were praying for me, my family, and all of my P31 sisters. I felt those prayers - thank you so much! I can't wait to meet many of you at She Speaks next week, and I know that the weekend will be so packed full of blessings, that my cup will be overflowing! I can hardly wait!


P.S. Winner!! The winner of my book Reinventing Your Rainbow is Kim Tifton, from Georgia! Congratulations Kim!