Tap Here To Begin Writing

Oct1

It makes it sound so easy. All you have to do is put the cursor at the top of the page and start writing. If you have something to say, shouldn’t the words just come?

Everyone’s probably heard of the term “writer’s block.” It refers to that time when you’re supposed to be writing something, but the inspiration just won’t come. It seems to happen most often when there’s a deadline hanging over your head. But every writer knows that you deal with writer’s block by just writing. You push through it. Sometimes you have to get up and take a walk, or do something else for a bit, but you can’t let the block win.

Eric Liddle, the Scottish runner memorialized in the movie “Chariots of Fire,” once said to his sister, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” God had made him fast, and he wanted to use that gift God had given him. So he ran.

When I write, I feel God’s pleasure. But the writing has to be done in His strength, not my own. And when life’s demands stealthily steal the time and attention I could be spending writing, I feel a listlessness that I don’t often attribute to having not written. It’s just a hobby for me anyway, isn’t it? It’s not like it’s my job. I don’t make my living off of it.

Maybe not; but it’s what gives me life.

Work out of your strengths. Isn’t that what job coaches tell us? If you’re in a job that constantly demands things of you that you find it a stretch to do, then maybe seeking God about another job would be a good idea. Now, I know in this economy that isn’t easy. Sometimes that strength may have to come on the side. Love doing administrative work? Ask your church if they need help in the office sometimes. Love working with kids? Volunteer as a mentor at a local school. Need to be outdoors? Use your evenings and weekends to fulfill that desire.

Life is too short to always work out of our weaknesses. God gave us strengths, gifts that we need to embrace and use for His glory. If I can take 10 minutes a day, or even every other day to get some words out there, I will feel much better.

What about you? What gift do you need to accept and use more?

Thankful today for:

604. people who leave really cool stuff out on the curb that I can then snatch up

605. grace

606. my team making it into the playoffs!

607. the chance to go to Colorado next week with my husband

608. friends who will help my kids while we’re gone

What Did You Do Today?

Sep28

After going through some marriage counseling, my husband learned that he was never to ask me the question “What did you do today?” If I needed to rest, I was to be allowed to rest. If all I accomplished was getting out of bed and getting the kids off to school, then that was OK. If I just needed to sit and read a book, I was to be allowed that freedom.

As moms, I think we get caught up in the doing, and we forget about the being. I am not loved because of what I do; I am loved because of who I am. And who I am is not dependent on the jobs that I have or the title I might hold. Who I am is completely dependent on who God made me to be. My identity cannot be in what I do, or I will spend my whole life striving. The rest I long to find will never come.

In Psalm 46:10 says “Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The New International Version translates it “Be still.” When we know that there is so much work to do, how hard is being still? This morning, one of the women from my office shared that God showed her that sometimes that means just sitting cross-legged in front of Jesus and letting Him look at you. That’s a great picture. Awkward, it might seem, but necessary. Am I letting Him see me? Am I letting Him tell me what HE wants me to do, rather than telling Him what I want to do?

This afternoon, my husband and I took our eldest son for a second job interview at a soon-to-be-opening restaurant in the area. Not two minutes after I prayed that God would do what He would do in that interview, my son came back to tell us that the hiring manager had told him that, whereas they really liked him, they were full up on 15-year-olds and to come back when he was 16 and he would have a job.

God is in control. He knew that “interview” would turn out the way it would without my efforts to make it any different. What could I do anyway?

What can I in my own strength do about anything?

So, what did I do today? Did I rest in Him? Did I cease my striving?

There’s a reason we’re not called “human doings.” We’re called human “BEings.” Makes a lot of sense to me.

Here’s a song that speaks to that. Enjoy. Restless

Thankful today for:

600. retreats

601. meals paid for by someone else

602. rest

603. newness

10 years ago Friday

Sep21

I was sitting inside where it’s nice and cool, watching my 10-year-old daughter cavort in the pool with her friends. Friday was her birthday.

Of course, I remember that day clearly. I went through most of labor in the waiting room as there was no room in labor and delivery. There was a bomb scare which kept the doctor away until it was almost too late. She was snatched away from me by a well-meaning nurse who thought she spit up something greenish that could indicate a perforated bowel. She had to spend several days in the NICU, and I had to go home without her, which was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Turns out she was perfectly fine, thank the Lord.

20120921-183342.jpgI loved the baby days, even with the sleepless nights. She was an adorable baby, and she has grown into a funny, gregarious, happy little girl young lady. Her heart is full of songs. She loves her family–even those annoying brothers–, she loves her pets, she loves Jesus. She wants to run a zoo when she grows up.

I’m hoping that doesn’t happen for a long, long time.

Happy birthday, Morgan.

Thankful today for:

595. My daughter
596. The rain holding off until after the pool party
597. Lasagna
598. Chocolate cake
599. Weekends

Hungry?

Sep15

Have you ever been out running errands or coming back from an appointment and been so hungry that every fast food place just beckons you like the sirens of myth. The smells of fried chicken wafting through the air vents is enough to cause the most staunch health enthusiasts to break their vows if they are ravenous enough. I usually manage to avoid the temptation because I’m so frugal with such things (but I’ll lay down $200 for an iPad if the chance comes my way–penny wise and pound foolish, I think they call it, but that’s another subject).

When I’m at home and have been so busy that I simply haven’t taken the time to eat, that feeling of desperate hunger causes me to plunder my pantry for whatever is available to fix it. Problem is, it’s only temporary. Without the proper nutrition attached, my “remedy” only lasts a short while, if it satisfies at all. If I would take the time to fix something proper and nutritious, I would be content.

I often try to fill my life with things that will only bring temporary satisfaction instead of long-term contentment. In the end, only God will satisfy. When our souls, like our stomachs, are empty, plundering the pantry of activities or relationships will not fill that void. Only dining at the feast God provides with His presence will give us the nourishment we need.

This song says it well. Enjoy.

Hungry

Thankful today for:
591. Saturday
592. New babies coming
593. A hint of coolness in the morning air
594. life

Life, and Baseballs, Come At You Fast

Sep9

By now you should know that I am a big Oakland A’s baseball fan. My love affair started when my family moved to Oakland in 1968. We used to get A’s tickets as rewards for being on the traffic squad in elementary school. This was in the days before night games, so when the A’s were consistently in the World Series in the 70s, the administration used to bring a big t.v. into the auditorium on a cart, and we could get out of class to watch part of the game. Our family even got to go to a few playoff and World Series games.

After World Series victories, of which there were many, our family would travel downtown to enjoy the victory parade. The atmosphere was so exciting.

I remember anticipating attending my first game. My great aunt Zizi was taking me and my older brother and sister. I was so excited that I threw up–and then I didn’t get to go. I was relegated to my room, listening to the broadcast on the radio. My mom finally figured out I wasn’t really sick when I kept running into the room with updates from the game.

My mom once had a job at a pharmacy in the same building as the A’s team doctor. The players would often come in to have prescriptions filled. Taking advantage of the situation, my mom would get their autographs–four times over. One for each kid. She even volunteered to make a home delivery once, with me in tow, to first baseman Gene Tenace’s house. What a thrill. Captain Sal Bando attended our church, though he usually sat in back and slipped out when Mass was over.

I remember when pitcher Vida Blue was seen visiting a neighbor up the road. My sister Leslie jumped right out of her sick bed to hurry up the road with us to get his signature on our A’s caps.

I remember the days of Charlie-O, the big donkey mascot named after famed A’s owner Charlie Finley. We once had a carnival at our elementary school, and Charlie-O was a special guest. Those were the days. Baseball was king.

Just a week ago, pitcher Brandon McCarthy stood on the mound for the A’s, playing another game in a pennant race that is very exciting for A’s fans. One second he was pitching the ball to an Angel’s hitter, the next, he was on the ground, beaned in the head by a screaming line drive. Taken to the hospital a short time later, Brandon underwent a CT scan which showed he had suffered a fractured skull and would undergo surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.

Praise God he is out of the hospital and recovering well, but his season is over. All in a matter of seconds.

When I was growing up, Zizi was an important part of holidays as she usually traveled from her home in Bakersfield to Oakland to spend the days with us. We would wait in anticipation for her big yellow car to make its way up our street. Her presence completed the holiday. Once I moved to Florida, I rarely got to see her.

On July 11th, my family and I arrived in Bakersfield, Calif., to visit Zizi and my aunt and uncle. I hadn’t seen Zizi in 9 years.  For the rest of my family–except Morgan, who had been with me 9 years ago–it had been longer. We enjoyed our short visit, prompted by the fact that we didn’t know when or if we’d see Zizi again. She was 94, after all.

Two weeks later, on August 26th, Zizi awoke thinking it was going to be like any other day. She went to the kitchen to make her breakfast when something went terribly wrong. While cooking an egg on her stove, she suffered some sort of episode that apparently caused her to pass out and fall onto the stove. The result of all this was 3rd degree burns over 40 percent of her body. Three days later, she was gone, too badly injured to recover. One moment making breakfast on a regular day; three days later, gone.

Baseball and Zizi: forever linked in my life.

20120913-094443.jpgLife comes at you fast. You never know how long you’re going to have someone with you. I don’t want to waste one moment in harsh words or unresolved conflict. No regrets. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful epitaph?

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure” (Psalm 39:4,5)

Thankful today for:

587. family

588. a tight pennant race

589. fall

590. RoundUp®