Love Hope and Faith

This Christmas as I danced through family visits, celebratory dinners, shopping trips, Christmas shows and the sweet moments of innocence I saw reflected in my children's faces, I saw beyond my own decorated door step into the lives of others...and it was there that the Lord shone his light revealing the true spirit of the season.

I saw a Godly woman tending to her husband who underwent triple bi pass surgery. I was struck by her words when I asked her how she was doing. She said: "I'm okay if he's okay." I will never forget those words. She is living proof of the wives we are called to be. Her hands reach out to the Father in LOVE.

I saw a mother sitting by her 11 year old son's hospital bed reading Christmas cards from loved ones. She's not sure how to ask the Lord for a new heart for her son but she trusts that whatever her prayer looks like, He will answer. Her hands reach out to the Father in HOPE.

I saw my dear friend at the mercy of her granddaughters cancer diagnoses praising God and giving Him the glory even though her heart was breaking. I watched her joy increase as she shared the most tender moments with her granddaughter... holding her little body tight in the midst of a storm. Her hands reach to out to the Father in FAITH.

I don't know what blessings or challenges lie ahead for me but I do know that I can aspire to be like the women I admire and I am thankful to a God whose loving arms receive those who reach for Him reminding us that there is the promise of something greater than our own understanding will allow.

May you have a joyous new year filled with love, hope and faith.

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS KINDNESS

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Giving in an authentic way doesn’t mean checking off a list and walking away announcing to the world your good deeds. It is giving with your whole heart. It’s taking the time to sit with someone, look them in the eye and tell them what they mean to you. It’s praying for that person. It’s hearing a prompting from the Lord and acting on it…. whether it be a gift of time, money, act of service or love… It’s not expecting anything in return. It’s giving and then thanking God for the opportunity in a quiet humble way.

Pay for coffee for the person standing behind you in line at Starbucks. Ask their name and pray for them when you get back to your car.

In your mother in law or daughter in laws Christmas card include a heartfelt letter about the things you admire about her.

Bring a neighbor something home made and yummy. Attach the recipe and a bible verse.

Engage a checkout clerk in conversation…you never know what her heart may be longing to hear.

Give your grandmother a foot massage and ask her to talk about her childhood with you. Tell her she is beautiful.

Offer to babysit your neighbor's children without wanting anything in return. Yes, the ones with the 6 kids and a dog! While you’re there, do the dishes or bake some cookies. Get on the floor and PLAY!

Write your husband a love letter and leave it in his car.

Make breakfast for your friends. Use your fancy dishes. Pray for them. Tell each lady what makes her special to you and how you see the Lord reflected through them. (someone did that for me recently and I felt SOOOOOOO special and loved! It made me want to pass it on.) Do this for your husband. Your in-laws. Your children.

Live in the moment and cherish it. While putting your kids to bed don’t be thinking about the tv shows you are missing or the laundry you have to put away. Just lay in bed with them and listen to their sweet hearts. Giggle with them. Love them. Pray for them.

Invite someone to church. Sit with them. Give them a hug. Tell them you care.

Give a homeless person some warm socks. Tell them you may never know what it’s like to walk in their shoes but you would sure like to make their journey a little warmer. Ask them their name. Pray for them.

The gift you can give yourself that doesn’t cost a penny….

Tell yourself: I am the daughter of a King. I want for nothing but His love. I need not change for the world. He made me just as He intended.

(So when the world screams at you that you need to be THINNER PRETTIER RICHER YOUNGER SMARTER FITTER BETTER. Throw your head back in laughter and stand firm in what you KNOW to be true. )

May you and your family see in each other God’s reflected love and kindness and may the gift of forgiveness through his only son renew and restore us all.

Merry Christmas dear friends!

Gratitude

Recently, my husband has been travelling quite a bit more than usual and I am just discovering that everything “happens” when the husband is away i.e. colds, flu, muscle spasms and tantrums, leaky rooftops and technological complications that most men are so gifted at fixing. Anyway, if you have a travelling man, you know just what I’m talking about. Needless to say we were anxious to have our traveling man home on this particular week.

On the day my husband was to reunite with us (much to the delight of our two little girls who ask the second Daddy leaves when Daddy is coming home), I got an email from him that started with “Everything is okay”. Now when you get an email like that you know that something is wrong. I braced myself and read further. “ A pilot has had a heart attack and we are re-routing to Reno Nevada. Okay, so now I am visualizing the plane being flown by a professional Nintendo game player and my husband’s last words to me will have been in an email. Gulp. Email is a funny thing. No feelings or emotions can be conveyed…no wink of the eye or wide and comforting smiles, just words on a screen. “The pilot has had a heart attack.” As I read further, I learn that the pilot was indeed a pilot…just not THE pilot. He was a passenger and he was stable. Everything really was going to be okay. My heart swelled with GRATITUDE. When my husband finally got home I hugged him extra hard and thought to myself… colds, flu, muscle spasms, tantrums, leaky rooftops and technical complications…BRING THEM ON. Just bring my husband HOME safely.

Gratitude. Every day. For every little thing.

This thanksgiving season may your heart be filled with gratitude for the people you love, the life you live and the opportunity you have to spread the joy of knowing our Heavenly Father.

…You shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.”

Deuteronomy 26:11

Speak the Truth in Love.

Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

This verse excites me because it promises that when we speak the truth in love we will GROW in Christ. So just how do we speak the truth in love? Does it mean telling our best friend that she looks terrible in green or mentioning to our husband that there’s a sale at Walgreens for men’s hair dye? Maybe not, but when opportunity knocks will you be ready? When someone reaches out to you, will you let the fear of rejection cloud your ability to gently lead your friend to the Lord? The enemy would love to flood your mind with thoughts of “what ifs”. What if she thinks I’m being self-righteous? What if I don’t know what I’m talking about? What if I don’t feel like getting involved?

If you’re not sure how to handle a situation seek the advice of a wise Christian mentor you trust to keep a confidence. Asking ten friends for their opinion will just end up becoming a gossip fest.

Seek the Lords counsel. He will equip you, give you the words, and bless your commitment to giving Him the glory by growing your faith and understanding.

Speak the truth in love. Simple. Amazing!

How Did I Get Here?

Do you ever ask yourself….How did I get here?

Wasn’t it a heartbeat ago that you were a sweet five-year-old little girl trying to be quiet, sit still and behave? Being a good girl was hard for me. I wanted to express myself with my body and my voice! What were you like at five? What happened to that little girl from so long ago?

Did she get married, have kids and fall into routine and structure? Did that five-year-old girl all grown up ever say to her own daughter “ be quiet, sit still, and behave?” And when she did say those things did she catch herself and ask: how did I get here?

Did that girl pack her children’s bags for college and close the door to her quiet house? Did she keep busy with her career or linger in her garden because she could? Did she look in the mirror and see her mother and ask how did I get here? Where is the girl? The girl?!

Maybe you will always look for the girl in the mirror. Maybe we all will.

Whatever season of life you are in, whether newly married or a mom or empty nester, in the blink of an eye you will be in the next season and then the next. It’s all so fast. When you look in the mirror you will see the girl and the woman and the grandmother all in one and you will ask the Lord… Are you pleased with who I’ve become Lord? What HAVE I done? Has it been enough? Am I ENOUGH? Do you still love me as much as you loved the little girl? How did I get here?

Today as you reflect, pray and give thanks, ask the Lord to pour into you and give you understanding, purpose, direction, peace and affirmation as you move toward the next season and know that by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Will you pray with me? I got here by your grace Lord and by grace I shall move on to the next season of life. Thank you Jesus for every season because even though THIS season may seem especially hard I know it is in your plan for me and me alone. In Jesus name AMEN.

I encourage you to think about the word Grace. What does it mean to you personally? Ponder it, pray about it, look it up and dig deeper.

YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS!

You can register by clicking on the link below. Pass this on to your friends. If you have any trouble registering, please email me personally so I can assist you at kare2write@hotmail.com I hope to see you there!

ACF Women Fall Brunch - Lineage of Grace

When: Saturday, September 18th, 9:30-11:30 am

Where: ACF Auditorium

Why: For teaching, fellowship, food and lots of laughter

Who: You – your friends / neighbors / co-workers

Details: Guest speaker, catered brunch, door prizes

Cost: $20 per person

Join us as we begin the journey to explore Biblical Womanhood as God defines it.

Register Online Here!

Summer Soul Food

If you are a voracious reader like I am you likely have a summer reading list. Books that have been recommended to you by friends, the New York Times best seller list, biographies you have been curious about and books you’ve been meaning to read that have piled up on your night stand collecting dust. Ah summer. An invitation to ignore routine and bask in the laziness of unscheduled days. Seems like the perfect time to whittle away at the list. Alas, my reading list has become just that…a list, while I indulge in less challenging choices like magazines that offer a myriad of mind numbing headlines such as “Angelina gives birth to Jennifer’s baby. Shocking fertility mix up that is causing heads to roll. “ Okay I made that up…but well, aren’t ALL the stories in these magazines made up?

I have two baskets in my living room. One is packed full of literature and the other basket overflows with “light reading.” Okay, trash. So why do I gravitate to the trash? Perhaps because after a day of running through sprinklers, trekking to child friendly activities in 100 degree weather and coming home to 18 loads of laundry, I am not exactly energized enough to read Anna Karenina. Let’s face it, magazines offer a 10-minute escape. No brainpower required. Is there a happy medium? A quick read that can actually feed my soul? Yes! Yet as I pass the checkout counter I am still drawn to my friends Angie and Jen. I’m working on it.

I’ve challenged myself to fill my baskets with more God pleasing material. Check out the link below and subscribe to a little summer soul food along with me.

Top 10 Christian Magazines

(Why you won't find a bible in my reading baskets? My bible has a place of honor in a fancy tray in the living room.)

Making a Difference One Pancake Breakfast at a Time

1 Peter 4:10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Imagine you are 10 years old. You wake up from a great nights sleep to the smell of buttermilk pancakes wafting through your bedroom. You go to the kitchen and see your mom in her apron, smiling. She tells you that several of your friends are on their way over for a pancake breakfast. Juices line the countertop. You watch as your mom scoops up a handful of chocolate chips to sprinkle in the pancake batter. The griddle sizzles and fills the room with a buttery smell so delicious you salivate. The doorbell rings. Your friends are here!

You think to yourself… mom is good!

Flash forward six years later. It’s Friday and you’re up early. You and your mom share stories as she makes the first batch of pancakes. You notice as the morning sun illuminates your moms blond hair. A girl arrives at the door. It’s 7am. You read with her from the bible and have a laugh over an inside joke. She finishes, thanks your mom and heads to her school, 45 minutes away. It’s a long way to come, but she wouldn’t miss it for the world. 5 more kids show up. Laughter, fellowship, sharing and prayer fill the kitchen.

You think to yourself… life is good!

You’re now 20 years old, on your own and a college student. Every weekend you head home to the familiar smell of pancakes and mom’s smiling face. Friends you’ve had since you were a kid make their way over to your house too until there you all are at the counter again, just like old times, laughing, sharing…eating moms pancakes.

You think to yourself… GOD is good.

Nicole Bryant has made pancakes for her children and their friends every Friday morning before school since her first born son was 14 years old. The tradition continues for her daughter. Yes, she’s been told she’s a fabulous cook, but her passion for teens and her ability to love on them, serve them, and build lasting relationships while sharing the Lords message with them has been her greatest gift.

I met Nicole for the first time a few weeks ago and when she shared her story with me she literally glowed while talking about making pancakes for these kids and how through the years, this simple tradition has blessed so many, herself included.

“It’s not about the pancakes,” she told me. “Sure, the kids love them but it’s really about providing a safe place where the kids can look forward to coming every week. In this kind of environment, the kids really feel like they can open up and share what’s on their heart. They feel loved, cared for and know that this is a home where Jesus is served. We were never the “party house” and the kids still came. Every week they came because they wanted MORE than a party. They wanted to feel special and to belong to something special and at my house they did, every one of them.”

Gifts come in many forms but they all start with KNOWING and LOVING our Father in Heaven.

When you meet Nicole it’s obvious that she knows, loves and serves the Lord with all of her heart and she is truly using her gifts to make a difference…one pancake breakfast at a time!