My Creekside Reflections on Psalm 23

 

Good morning!  Welcome to my blog!   Last weekend (end of March), we traveled a few hours to visit my family for Easter.  My parents live in rural Elk County, PA.  This is the area where I was raised and I still love it there.  We currently live in Erie, PA and are coming up on 10 years in Erie!  For the 10 years between high school and moving to Erie, I traveled around and lived in nearby states, working different horses jobs, college in NY and then back to horse world.  I met my husband in June 2004 while I was living in CT.  We were engaged, married and were expecting our firstborn when we moved from CT to Erie back in June 2006.

Back to our Easter weekend visit to Elk County.  I was out for a Sunday morning walk with our little dog.  So different from our usual walks around our suburban neighborhood here at home!  Anyways, I had taken my phone along to get a few photos of the creek and woods. I did not expect the way that God reached out to my weary heart and spoke to me through Psalm 23.  Once we got back home to Erie, I shared reflections on this time over the next five days - one each morning on my FB page.  I had several requests to include all of these posts into one single blog entry.  SO - here we are!

 

And what prompted this walk was kind of ironic... a friend commented on enjoying these posts on Psalm 23 and THIS is actually what sent me out the door and kept me out for a while!  "It was such a good Sunday morning walk. I just love the opportunity to really be out in nature. And to be honest – I was making sure to stay away from the house for a little while! My Dad was making the traditional family stuffing for a turkey which was to accompany the ham on the Easter table. That stuffing and the ingredients are creepy to me!"  Whatever works!  God can use events to get our attention, pulling us away to the quiet to hear from Him.  :)

 

Monday

Yesterday I was walking along this lovely stream while visiting my parents. Parts of Psalm 23 kept coming to mind. Being alone out there in the quiet of the morning made for a good time of prayer. Sometimes things happen and life is thrown all off-kilter. Balance is not just found within myself. He is my compass.

 

Tuesday
Coming out of the woods on Sunday morning, I found this sunbeam shining. My parents' place is just around the bend, on the right.

I had been thinking of Psalm 23 and this part came to mind -

"He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake."

Wednesday
"Big Hole" - story time!

When I was a teen, sometimes we would take our horses and ponies and spend 5-6 hours out riding. A favorite destination was a beautiful swimming hole. I loved the depth of this spot. It was a bonus that the water was so clear and the bottom was clean and there was no tricky undertow in this area. And two big rocks to jump off of? Right into the deepest part? When I did swim without my pony, that was my favorite part.

Fast forward 20 years. My parents recently sold their farm of 27 years. It has been a time of change for our family. As life goes – there is always a measure of uncertainty and things up in the air.

Early Easter morning, I was out for a walk with our dog. I happened upon this spot and it looked so familiar to me. All that I knew about the location of our old swimming hole was that it was somewhere "on the far side of Gardner Hill".

I came back to the house and was talking with my Dad. It turns out that this was indeed the same spot! The locals have always referred to it as "Big Hole". I remember 25 years ago and riding with a friend who was a few years older than me. Her friends would drive out and meet us here to swim. Big Hole was the term used and I had long forgotten that until my Dad mentioned it.

Walking on Sunday morning, I kept thinking about Psalm 23. This is an area of lovely quiet, still waters. We have a Good Shepherd who will lead us in this life. It is a question of whether or not we will trust and follow?

When I was a kid growing up on the farm in Scattertown, it was quite a long haul on our ponies, up and down hills and through all sorts of terrain to reach this spot. Now that my parents have moved to their new place – this is literally just a five minute walk their door. I am really looking forward to sharing this place with my own children.

Thursday
Do you know what this is? On the right? The thing that scares me so much?

As I was walking in the woods Sunday morning, this is the spot that first caught my eye. This is what had me standing on the bridge with tears.

To me, the right reminds me of "not enough". The stream that you see on the left is coming in with plenty of water and flow. The branch trickling in from the right? Quite the opposite. Even in springtime.

When Sean's Grandmother was dying, I sat down next to her bed there in her lavender bedroom in CT and I opened up Psalm 23 to read aloud to her. I could not make it through the first verse without the words catching in my throat - "The Lord is my Shepherd. I have all that I need." In that moment, I was brought to the very center of our lives -- no matter the who/what/where/when/why/how. Do we believe it? That He is our guide and will provide? Do we live like we believe it?

I worry about "enough". About having enough. About being enough. And so that translates into making sure that I am "doing enough" - and sometimes that becomes off balance! I looked at this trickle on the right and it caused me anxiety as a clear representation of what I fear. Yet we are given the example later in Psalm 23 that we will NOT FEAR because He is with us. He is our Shepherd. We have all that we need.

These two merge together and just on the other side they become "Big Hole" - the spot that I was writing about yesterday.

Bring what you have. Bring it with open hands. HE IS ENOUGH. I remind myself of this often and I will choose to not fear. When the kids were little, we would sing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and man did that song ever bring me conviction and a reminder of where to place my trust!

Friday
Good morning! This post concludes my week of reflections on the 23rd Psalm. These photos had been taken during an Easter morning walk while visiting my parents in Elk County, PA.

Yesterday's photo about not fearing and the "enough" is what you would see on the upstream side of standing on this little logging bridge. This right here is the view on the downstream side. "Big Hole" from my childhood memories!

"I will dwell" is within the final lines of Psalm 23. We can choose where we will settle ourselves. Will this include staying close to our Shepherd?

Isaiah says that we are like a bunch of sheep who wandered off. The message of Easter is that God sent Jesus to bring us back. He took our stubborn wrongs on Himself. He was wounded in our place.

God wants us close to Him. To have us dwell near Him. Sometimes we wander to where we can't hear His voice. Yet He is our Shepherd. He searches for us and gently leads us. He knows our needs.

It is up to us to decide "where we will live". We go through seasons of feeling adrift. But we can come back back home.

"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."

The above is a prayer from my favorite old hymn. I sing it often.

On the Bit? Communion Time Reflection...

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  This is a place where I oftentimes share clean eating recipes and health-related perspectives.  But not today!  Today is one of my "journal" type of entries.  :)  My name is Jeanette and I live in Erie, PA.  I have been a horse person most of my life and you know what?  God speaks to us where we are at - especially when we are actively seeking to hear from Him.  The bulk of this blog entry is actually a story of mine via video - check out the thought that was impressed upon me during communion reflection time at church this past Sunday...

Hopefully in combination with my video story, this image helps you to picture the difference of "being on the bit" or not!

As I was pondering all of this Sunday - that question that came to mind during communion reflections - "Are you on the bit?" was heavy on my heart all day.  The past two weeks, I have spent a lot of time thinking about 2015 and where I have been and 2016 and where I am headed.  This relates to so many areas of my life and the varying roles that I play!  

So then I was scrolling facebook late Sunday night and was praying a prayer of surrender - committing myself to the Lord to trust and obey this new year.  And guess what??  What popped up in my newsfeed?????  The following illustration which was posted by a friend!  Coincidence?  Probably not.  Confirmation - yep!  God is faithful.  He reaches out to us.

Red Balloon

Good morning!  Welcome to my blog.  Today is a Tuesday in September.  There is something that took place on Sunday that I have been wanting to share. 

First, a bit of background.  I am a wife and mom of two elementary age kids.  My husband and I have been married for 10 years.  We moved from CT to Erie, PA nine years ago.  I could be described as a determined, enthusiastic, outgoing go-getter.  Whatever I do, I tend to be all-in with it.  Most of my jobs in life involved working as a riding instructor, show groom, rider, lesson program manager.  I also spent quite a few years as a restaurant server.  Right after Bible college graduation in '01, I did spend two years working with administration, events and communications.  These days I am a team leader for women's ministry at our church and I am also a health coach with my own business.  After making my own health a priority 2 years ago, I began coaching 18 months ago and love being able to share with others how to make the same changes that led to me losing 60 pounds (so far!) and being able to transform my life. 
 

My family of origin (as opposed to my own current household!) involves my two younger sisters and our amazing parents.  They live a couple of hours from here.  My paternal Grandma is my last living grandparent and she has always been so special to me.

 

It can be tricky sometimes being the person that I am and being married to a guy who is my opposite.  I do NOT want to be the wife who takes over and just drives the bus herself.  I do want to have him lead our family.  The hardest part is that I like to do things quickly - like yesterday.  And if things don't go quite as planned, I figure out the next steps as I am hiking through them.  He likes to take his time and looks carefully at so many factors before even thinking of the least bit of change.  

This summer has been exciting with a return to my roots.  More on that here - with "Once a Horse Girl..."  But this has come with a price.  You know what I mean - when your heart wants to be two places at once.  When you feel torn.  When you ask questions that do not have an easy answer.  At age 37, I continue to seek the balance of who I am and who others need me to be.  MOST OF ALL, I want to honor the Lord and walk closely with him.  As I do that, other things do come into place.  God is faithful.

Sunday morning I opened my Bible Gateway app as is my habit.  I do this before I get out of bed so that the day does not begin to get away from me without first HALTING it all and seeking the Lord through His Word to us.  I woke up that morning and my first thought was missing my family as we had just come back from spending a day with them.  I thought of how my husband is so different in his background and personality and how it is a balancing act.  I LOVE him and and committed to our marriage.  Anyone who has partnered with someone just plain different from you knows this dynamic.  Anyways, I opened up my Bible and the "verse of the day" came from this vicinity and I began my reading here...

^"The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance — the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes — but your inner disposition.
Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.
The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don’t run aground."  ~ I Peter 3:1-7 from The Message paraphrase

First, my husband is NOT "indifferent to words about God".  For that I am thankful.  When we met, we were at very different places in our spiritual journeys but we were headed in the same direction and we have continued to grow together.  

But the reminders here to think not just about myself and to be responsive to who my husband is and his perspective... to be gentle (which is NOT my nature when I am on a mission!) and to be mindful of my inner disposition (which tends to run hot at times!) and to be holy in what I do.  How am I going to bring myself into alignment with this?  Only by the grace of God and living life with Him as my constant Guide.  I do want to honor him in my life.  

There is a song that has been on repeat in my heart and I was singing it again Sunday morning.  I did a couple of things here and then got ready to head over to the church to handle a few details that needed to be covered before my family headed there with me for the morning.

So I got into the car alone and was singing the song above.  I had left my phone here and was just making the 5 minute drive to be there a little while, check some things off of my to-do list and then return.

As I drove along on Old Zuck, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart to just "let it go".  To lay down the things that have weighed so much on me this week.  It is a long story but my attention was on something that just wasn't working out as I had hoped.

The sky Sunday morning was beautiful, the way it is after a day of storms.  There were white clouds with the sun shining so brightly behind them and giving them that glow, interspersed with a few dark gray clouds as well.  It was striking.  As I responded to the tug on my heart to let it go, I saw a single red balloon that may have been temporarily caught in a tree along the road and it was released in the breeze.  It began to float upward into that beautiful sky.  To me, it was symbolic of "letting go" and trusting the Lord to carry me where He will.  I did not have my phone with me but found this image online.  The sky on Sunday was more of a contrast. 

It was just one of those landmark moments.  A stake in the ground of my faith walk.  It is a daily thing to set aside my own hopes and plans when prompted.  I am determined (aka stubborn) and I am a planner!  God sees the bigger picture.  He knows the desires of our hearts.  He will guide us in the way that we should ultimately take if we will just wait for Him.  

In the past two days, I have thought of that red balloon many times.  It was symbolic as I was right within the moment of responding to the prompting to "let go" of my own plans and hoped-for timeframe with the potential next chapter in the life of my family.

And what did I find yesterday morning when opening up my Bible?  

"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." ~ Philippians 2:1-4 New Living Translation

I read these words after a night of just a few hours sleep.  My husband and I had both been restless in the night and had been talking through many things.  

God speaks to us through His Word.  We just have to position ourselves to hear from Him.

 

Over the weekend, I was working on a logo for my business.  There was just something about this that I really liked!  To me, GROWTH is so important.  Growth as a person in our many roles in life.  I never want to wither.  Growth takes exposure to the things that will help us grow - whether they are comfortable or not!  Progress often comes out of times of friction in our lives.  There has to be something that prompts and feeds change. It is also important to SHINE from within.  To take things on with sparkle and excellence.  

 

In closing, here is another song which is a prayer of mine... Truly HE is the only one who can change what we see and what we seek. 

 

Where I Have Been...

My goodness!  Where have I been here in blogging world??  I have not blogged nearly as often these past 6 weeks.  I have been in the block of a busy time in my volunteer role as Women's Ministry Team Leader at our church.  I really wanted for us to begin a seasonal evening Bible study.  Last night was Week 6 of 6.  I LOVED this.  We have had our monthly Friday Night Cafe and that was still in place for two of the six weeks, with April's Cafe being our first ever "Coffee and Color" night which was AWESOME but did take some time for me to orchestrate.  And let's not forget brunch for 220 on the first Saturday of May - this was our FIRST annual Mother Daughter Brunch.  So things have been busy in this whole area with leading the team as we put together each of these enjoyable events.  

As a mom who is currently homeschooling my two kids and also growing my Beachbody business and leading that team, life is FULL.  Add in a couple of unexpected trips out of town during the past 3 weeks and this all adds up to less blog entries in recent days.   

God has been teaching me some things during this weekly Bible study.  Pictured below is the guide that we have been following.  I HIGHLY recommend it!  I don't want to turn this blog entry into a novel, but I am going to share below about this past week and what God has been speaking to my heart and the way that things have been coming together.

Last week we made a trip down to see my family for a few days so that I could attend a memorial service there in the area. A key figure from my growing-up years had passed away and it was time for the family from out of state to gather and rest his ashes in the family plot in a country cemetery.  I was able to spend some time with his wife and the last time that I had seen them was at my wedding, nearly 10 years ago.

I wrote this on my FB page later that evening...

This morning I was driving through some very foggy conditions as I made my way through some unfamiliar woods. I was ALONE in the car as I was headed to a memorial service and the kids were with my family. Time to pray and think! The thing that I kept coming back to again and again is from Matthew 6:33 - to seek first God's kingdom and his ways of right living and then everything else comes into place. Focus set! I even started humming that old melody to go with the lyrics. I haven't thought of that one in years! 

I returned from the service and had some MORE alone time to just pray and reflect.  Mom had the kids with their cousins up at my sister's house in St. Marys.  I walked around my parents' farm and prayed that I would settle in my sometimes anxious heart to SEEK HIM FIRST.  To stop concerning myself with so many other things.  I have always been a "doer", "go-getter" or whatever you want to call it. I think that this is in my blood. My husband is precise and particular but takes a more laid-back approach to his pace in life.  We balance each other.  I do have to remind myself not to strive too hard at times but to let God's peace fill me.  

 

I walked around the farm and remembered something that He had spoken to my heart quite a few years ago.  At the farm, there is an overflowing spring.  It runs most of the year.  At times the overflow will freeze up when in the coldest temps or dry up in the worst draught.  But other than that, it is there and the horses drink freely from this little overflow stream.  When the overflow is NOT running, look out!  Time to pump the water from the well.  Now the thing is electric, of course.  But when we were younger, you had to prime the handle pump.  And then pump and pump until you thought your arm may just fall off as you pumped water for 4-6 horses.  OR if that well was frozen or too low, water would have to be carried from the house to the barn.  Talk about a chore!  Bottom line, water service from the overflow is SUCH A DIFFERENT dynamic than water that is pumped hard or carried far.  The Lord had brought this illustration to me years ago and prompted me to remember to love and serve my children and others from the overflow of what HE is doing in my life, rather than what charity and goodwill I am able to dredge up and carry about and distribute on my own.  When the overflow is running, your attitude is much different than when you are working so hard to pump and transport water and then a horse has the nerve to kick over a bucket!  So many times as a mom, I have been in that same moment of feeling unappreciated by my kids!

** My daughter wanted to help me with this blog entry and made this image before bed this evening.  She helped to find a google image with the verse and then put together some recent photos of us using picmonkey.  :)

So I returned home from last week's trip and began reading my Bible study homework for the week and guess what kept coming up there?!!!?  Matthew 6:33 and remembering to SEEK GOD FIRST and everything else comes into place.  Sunday's study guide reading challenged us to "fast" in some area of our life as we walked in that spiritual discipline and leaned in to hear God more closely.  I chose to take an 11 hour "FB-fast" that day and it was very good and needed and I will do it regularly.  At church that morning, our pastor was talking about the sisters Mary and Martha.  Here is the 35 minute message via YouTube.  Umm... if you know anything about those two New Testament sisters, I am Martha.  Pastor Mark challenged us to serve from the overflow.  I was sitting there, rooted in the pew as all that the Lord had reminded me of three days prior was still very fresh.  Serving from the overflow.  And it is not like I have been hearing this everywhere lately or whatever!?  Sometimes God just does that.  The closing song is a favorite of mine and it was a sacred moment of dedicating all of this to HIM.  Again, because sometimes we forget to life our eyes and look beyond the everyday routine and needs of life. 

This week I have been very excited about a new chapter that I am entering in my coaching business.  Things are going so well!  Since beginning as a coach 14 months ago, it has certainly been good for our household dynamics for me to have something to "do" that is my own thing where I can work hard at it and see the progress. I pester my husband less with my desire to see things happen! Not that I needed to "add one more thing"! No thank you to any extra busy work without purpose. Yikes!  I didn't want to be working outside of the home these past 14 months but I did want/need to work. I have goals and plans and I am leading my team forward as we work together in helping others to improve their own health and the health of their families. I have found how much I enjoy the strategy planning business discussions with my team and with my sister. I have always enjoyed math and productivity... what can I say?

Here is part of what I had shared with my coaching team this morning:

God has been so faithful in our lives. He put something on my heart last Thursday morning and I have been walking that out this week. I will share more via blog.

But I know that everyone here may enjoy hearing something exciting in the meantime!
I have been just under a certain weekly income mark soooooooo many times! Lots of weeks almost there and I have been wanting to break that threshold!  Anyways, I came home late last night from Bible study and then getting groceries. Beachbody had assigned me another new "Success Club Customer" which is what happens when you reach SC10 the month prior and are Emerald+ and Club member. You get these leads. Two of mine happened to fall within this week and one had ordered two bags of Shakeology and the other had ordered one bag last night. Surprise!  Guess what!?!?!? $--- is what I opened up my online office to see for this week. What?? I had taken that old "best ever weekly" threshold and surpassed it by $130 dollars!
I am sharing this to encourage you. I have been coaching for 14 months now. I do average a total of 3-4 hours per day spent on my business. I have to be creative with how to make it work. But since I need to work to help support our household, I do. And the exciting part is that I am not locked into some small, dead-end, low-paying, part-time retail thing. We have the potential to take coaching and RUN with it.  Be you. Work hard. Remember to have both heart and hustle. This takes time and you will be amazed at how it can all come together!

So that is a little bit about my week and how things have come together.  God is faithful.  He is weaving together the tapestry of our lives.  Lift your eyes and reach out to find him.  One of my very favorite Bible readings comes from the book of Acts, chapter 17 and says this (emphasis mine)...

²² So Paul, standing before the council,addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, ²³ for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
²⁴ “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, ²⁵ and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. ²⁶ From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
²⁷ “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

Just sitting here this evening and writing this blog, I pulled in the song from Sunday by finding it on youtube.  Following that, this one came on and I AM LOVING IT!  I had never heard this acoustic twist on that song.  Beautiful.  This is my prayer.  

Seasons + Choices + Flexibility!

Today we begin a new month - April!!  One of my favorite months!  Spring officially began nearly two weeks ago here in Erie, PA.  But yesterday it began snowing like crazy while I was down in the basement doing my morning workout.  Throughout the day we got over 5" of fresh snow on top of our recently revealed grass.  Oh well!  The sun came out in the afternoon and the kids were excited to be out in the rapidly melting snow!  Today is an exciting day here in Erie!  One of the best things about living here is Presque Isle.  We are just three miles from this peninsula and we are there 3-5 times per week during decent weather!  There have even been weeks of being there 6-7 times during the best of the season!  I am such an outdoors person and I love that my kids also really enjoy the beach.  Anyways, the beach is of course not open YET.  That will have to wait for Memorial Day Weekend!  But Sara's did open today and we had to head up there for some baby cones to celebrate this big occasion.  It was a L-O-N-G winter here.  Right up through yesterday!

This is my second year of homeschooling with my daughter who is in 2nd grade this year.  We have 44 days remaining of our required 180!  Our son has been doing kindergarten work here at home and I so enjoy seeing his viewpoint on life.  He and my daughter are SUCH opposites in many areas!  Listening to them work and play together can be the most amazing thing.  We are currently in flux with our plans for schooling for next year.  We may continue with homeschooling but are also exploring other options.  This is most definitely a matter of prayer!    

Last week a friend had posted some photos and just happened to add a verse that I saw as I was scrolling facebook.  You can see my response above!  I know that the Lord is faithful and will guide us on this journey.  Right now, I do juggle quite a few things.  I realize that it would be crazy to try to do everything forever!  As a mom who works from home and also with schooling from home, I so appreciate the flexibility that we have in our lives.  Things do get a bit crazy at times.  Life with kids = never a dull moment!  But it is good and I am deeply thankful to be where we are today.  I am not sure what the next season will bring but each time I sing with the kids, "He's got the whole world in His hands", I am humbled and reminded of HIS great love and faithfulness.  We are trusting day by day!

I am 10 DAYS from completing 8 weeks of the Fix Extreme and that means new progress photos are just around the corner! I am on a great path and can't wait to see the results!

So then what??  I am going to return to PiYo!!!!!! Check out the image above... umm, you can see why I love this program! My body and mind just click so well with the low impact but yet "not easy" approach of this pilates/yoga based program. I am such a fan of the way that PiYo feels. Nothing like it! 

I came out of Insanity Max 30 and that was brutal and needed and so good to significantly up my cardio capacity and prove to myself what I could do! Right now, I am a smaller size than what I was in the post-PiYo photo from September. I am truly more advanced on my overall journey. I did have a tan there and my entire stance conveys how I felt about things at that moment in time. And my legs!?!? That photo captures the best that they have ever been! 

I am so intrigued to see what this return to PiYo will bring with all that I have now experienced with Max 30 and Fix Extreme. Stay tuned! BETTER YET??? Do PiYo WITH ME!!! Icing on the cake?? PiYo is April's special!  If you are interested in learning more, just complete the application which is located at the bottom of the blog entry. 

I work as a Team Beachbody coach and I have been at this for the past 13 months.  It is so neat to be able to help others and lead my team while I continue on my own fitness journey!  This has been an excellent solution for my family as I no longer have to spend 25+ hours working outside of the home. Yet I am still able to contribute steadily to the family budget without sacrificing my own flexibility in life.  If reading this sparks your interest, let's talk!  I would be glad to help you see if this could be a fit for you!

Fill out my online form.

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A First with My Daughter...

Last night I was cooking dinner and something happened for the first time...  I know that this is a feeling that I will remember for the rest of my life.  Friends with older kids have told me about this but I had not yet experienced it myself.  

My husband was doing some things on the computer which is set up at a desk in our dining room.  Our 5 year old son was circling the living room, dining room and kitchen loop while making tracks with a variety of trains.  I thought to myself, "Where is Kylee"?  She recently had her 8th birthday and has been spending more time upstairs in her bedroom.  She plays with her Barbies.  She sits at her desk and writes/draws in her diary.  She listens to music.  She works with her Lego Friends creations. I took a look into the dining room last night and my heart was so happy to see her sitting at the table.  She was working on some art project and was humming to herself.  I realized that this was the "first" time that I had felt a bit sad thinking of her off enjoying something alone in her room while feeling a bit wistful that she was not down here with the rest of us.  It hit me that this would likely become an all-too-familiar feeling over the years to come.  Aaaaaahhh!  Thinking and writing about this now makes me teary!  A moment later I heard her asking my husband to take a look at something that she had drawn.  They are both the artists in this family!  He instantly stopped what he was doing and turned around to be fully present in the conversation with her and my heart was full.  This is one area in which he does so much better than me. Granted, I am with the kids all day every day as we are a homeschooling family.  Balance is important and at times I am in the zone while running my coaching business from here at home.  But the combination of these moments last night will serve as a reminder for me to really hit "pause" on some of my endeavors in order to be fully present with the kids.  And my husband!

Nearly two years ago, I read a FB status that JUMPED off of the page at me and was a deciding factor in some decisions that we were making.  The statement simply said, "What you plant is what grows".  What are we planting into the lives of our kids?  There are a million things to do each week and sometimes the thought of proactively "doing another thing" can feel like too much.  It has been my prayer that in my everyday life, I am living in such a way that what I am naturally communicating to my kids is planting good seed and is cultivating what is at work within them. 

Yesterday morning I opened up my BibleGateway app to the verse of the day.  It was found in Galatians 6 and as I read surrounding verses in that chapter, some questions that I have been asking myself and the Lord were swiftly confirmed to me...

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.  Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.  So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

 

Charged?

 

Good evening!  I have been thinking about something for the past few days.  I imagine that some of us have a plan this year to "do better" with getting into our Bible reading time or prayer time or any sort of spiritual growth and development.  I am in the habit of reading each morning and have been that way since I was in my early teens.  Some days I have those light bulb moments and know beyond doubt that I am reading EXACTLY what I needed to read at just that moment.  Other days I catch something that I had never before noticed in a familiar scripture passage.  And there are also days where I read something and God's Word settles down into my spirit and later that day or week I wind up in conversation with someone where what has been deposited into me is exactly the thing that is a blessing to them in the moment that our paths cross.  I LOVE how God does that!  And then there are the days that may seem more mundane in comparison.  Life is just not a unending chain of mountaintop moments!  The main thing is to set aside the time, open your Bible, your mind and your heart and dig in!  If you are looking for a place to begin or plug-in with your own Bible study, I would be glad to share some resources.  

The part that I am really working on is the part where AFTER I read, I take some time to just reflect and be still.  Quieting my mind can be the biggest challenge!  I am so quick to be on to the next thing on the list.  Yet some of the most fulfilling and meaningful moments come when I STOP and just wait to hear from God.  Even just the quality of the purposeful "quiet" goes a long way!  Too often I am off and running for the next thing rather than allowing the words that I have read to really begin to work down into the soil of my being.

The other day we were getting ready to go somewhere and the kids and my husband had been using my phone for a variety of things.  I looked at the screen and was like, "Are you kidding me?!?!"  The battery was down to nothing and no one had plugged in the thing to charge.  They are usually pretty good about taking care of that.  We have the car charger but it is kind of slow and rather lame and we were not going to be driving for all that long anyways.

Then it hit me all at once - how often do I approach my days with a low charge spiritually?  What if I kept an eye on "charging" that area as closely as I tend to be aware of the remaining charge on my phone?  I STOPPED and stood still in my kitchen as I pondered this realization.  I thought of John 15 where Jesus talks about how He is the Vine and we are the branches.  We have got to stay connected to our source or we can do nothing!  If we want to be fruitful in life, we must remain in Him.  When we live in obedience to Him, our joy is complete.  Just like my phone running on a low battery and eventually shutting down, the same thing will happen to me if I do not take the time to recharge spiritually.  And the source of this power comes from outside of myself!  Apart from Him, I come up empty!

As we begin 2015, there is a verse that has been meaningful to me for many years and has become my current focus and prayer - "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." (Psalm 119:37)  Those "worthless things" will suck the life right out of us!  If we want to "preserve" our charge, we have to be rooted in His Word, with our eyes fixed on Him as we navigate our days.  This is a lifelong endeavor!  Some days we do really well and other days not so much.  As I get ready to take on my day tomorrow, I will be asking myself for a screen shot of my heart - how does the level of charge look?  It is a given that the daily stuff of life can be draining.  Thankfully we have a source who is always available to us!  It is up to us to pause and plug-in there.  

Here is a song that I have been listening to often this past week - "This I Know" from Crowder.  I    

 

Watch Your Form

I was recently in the midst of a situation where I was feeling overwhelmed and very out-of-sorts.  I really hate that feeling and it seems as though it can quickly snowball.  You know what I mean?  I woke up this past Thursday morning and read the fifth chapter of Galatians before starting into my day.  I oftentimes read the "New Living Translation" and then also supplement with "The Message" as I soak in God's Word and pray that my life will be one that has been marinating in this perspective!  Here are some highlights (via The Message) from Galatians 5:

^4-6 "I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.
^16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
^22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
^25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original." 

  

These words are so powerful!  Reading back through them just now has me convinced that perhaps I should focus on this chapter and really break it down in my own mind and heart over the next several weeks!  Staying close to God through His Word SHAPES us.  Like nothing else.

So back to this past Thursday morning.  I had read these words from Galatians and then went down to the basement to begin my workout.  I was doing "Lower Fix" that morning and during the split squat move depicted in the image at the top of this entry, something hit me so hard that I had to pause the DVD and just take it all in.  "WATCH YOUR FORM" was the thing.  Now many of us know that while working out it is imperative that we use correct form or we will be more prone to injury not to mention that we will be ineffective with that particular move and are in effect wasting our time with it!  I am thankful to have my husband checking me out every now and then during my workouts!  With his athletic trainer background he is able to instantly spot where I may be going wrong with my form.  As much as this can irritate me at first, it is helpful.  He has my best interests at heart and I need to hear it.  But back to 5:45 on Thursday!  As I paused the DVD and sat down on my basement floor that morning, here is what I felt the Lord speaking to my heart... "Watch your form.  Right now.  In your life.  Otherwise you are going to be ineffective and will get hurt."  This has been settling in my heart over the past five days and I know that it is a life lesson that I will implement and remind myself of during the days ahead.  There is so much more to life than what we can see happening right in front of us.  What are we going to do with all that we have been given?