It's All About Me

We’d all like to think we are kind people. Thoughtful. Generous. We give to charities, we volunteer, and we appreciate other people’s way of living – as long as it works for them.

For most of us, we try to stay out of trouble. We bite our tongue and we don’t get involved in heated debates, discussions, or quarrels.

Yet we still like to blame others for our own problems. We blame the government, the schools, the other guy in traffic – anyone, but ourselves.

I think it’s what’s wrong with society today. WE are what’s wrong.

You see, we struggle with being accountable for our own actions.

Life doesn’t seem to affect us on a personal level until it DOES affect us on a personal level.

We don’t seem to care about a nation’s debt until our taxes are raised.

We feel bad about someone getting killed in the military but it doesn’t pain us until our son, daughter, niece or nephew enlists.

We don’t see the big deal in gun rights until someone breaks into our home, or carjacks us.

It’s all, personal, you see.

We are so focused on US, that not much else seems to get under our skin when we feel our own lives are going smoothly. It doesn’t ruffle us.

But it should.

We were never meant to live just for ourselves. We were meant to come alongside each other, support, encourage, help, and yes – feel.

And we’ve grown cold.

We fail to see how many, many people still suffer after a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake. All we see are the leaders rushing in for the photo opp and then leaving. So we think things are under control We think people are cared for. But they’re not. They’re forgotten.

Until we start caring about what’s right and what’s wrong BEFORE it affects us, we will be living in a society that continues to go down a dangerous path. 

Until we learn to take responsibility for our own choices and endure the consequences that follow, we will always be blaming someone else. And no one will be the better for it.

Until we start learning to prize wisdom, discernment, HONESTY, and humility – we will never have leaders who truly care about our daily needs and worries.

When we live a life that is “all about me” – it ends up destroying everything that is good and pure.

It steals your freedoms. For you no longer work for them, earn them, or appreciate them.

They Will Break Your Heart

When I first became a mom, I knew my heart was irrevocably wrecked the moment I first held my baby. It was all consuming. I’d never felt anything like it.

When they are little and magical – you think nothing will ever change that overwhelming feeling of love you have for them. And when they are toddlers and in the first grades of elementary school, for the most part, you “rock” their world. You are the first person they run to when they are hurt. The one they most want to hold them, and they tell you everything in the world.

Time and growing up change that.

Your child starts running to their room yelling at you in anger because you said “no,” or you caught them doing something they shouldn’t. You don’t become the “favorite” anymore. Instead, your title sometimes is “irritant” or “disciplinarian.” They confide in friends before you.

And it breaks your heart.

But you’ve broken theirs too. All those times you yelled when you didn’t mean to or spanked in anger.  Those words said harshly or in a hurry before you could pile them up and put them back in your mouth. You’ve hurt those precious children.

You’ve broken their heart.

Without meaning to, we hurt those we love the most.  That’s part of love. It knows no bounds. 

Your children will break your heart meaning to, in their most rebellious moments. But they will also break your heart not meaning to. Your heart will be broken when they go off to kindergarten never looking back. It will be broken the night of their first sleepover when they didn’t need to call you.  Your heart will be broken when you know they are hurting, yet don’t want to share it with you, or when they leave home for good.

It goes with the territory.

But you think back to those moments – all the good ones. The time you held them for the first time or they said, “mama” before all other words. When they called you from school to come and get them because they needed you or when you held them after their first break-up.

Do you remember?

Do you remember when they wrote you a note, “Just because?” or when they complimented you in front of their peers?  How they said, “I love you” from down the hall without prompting from you?

Those are the moments. It is why we do what we do. It is love. It is memories. It is heartbreak.

All of it. Wrapped in one big package. One doesn’t come without the other.

And I wouldn’t change a second. All the heartbreak, heartache, tears, and hurt are worth it. THEY are worth it. For I am investing in another life.

Forever.

Build Him Up

Do you know that the average man has never had anyone believe in him?

They feel a great deal of pressure to be a success, take care of their family, be involved in their children’s lives, etc.  But these expectations usually come with demands not reassurances.

Just like us – our men can feel overwhelmed at times and are very afraid to let us down; or to fail – not only us, but also themselves.

Lift up your husband.  Encourage him especially when he is feeling “low” or having a weak moment.  Pray for him and believe in the possibilities.  Your husband will feel your belief and that will impact him in a powerful way.

It may not always be easy but even if your husband is having a weak moment, or is “low”; your belief in him may be the only thing that pulls him out of a destructive cycle.

You know what it feels like to have people expect things from you and to feel overwhelmed. So treat him gently… and build him up.

Insecure

I hate those moments in life where insecurity creeps into my heart and life. I look back on them and wish I’d felt differently – acted differently. I see how things could have been, would have been just fine if I’d simply embraced who and where I was in that moment.

I do hate insecurity.

Insecurity can make you feel unloveable when you really are very loved. It can make you feel ugly when you are attractive and it can make you feel unqualified when you have a unique gift. In short, it robs us of our confidence. It steals our belief in ourselves.

I know that I have special callings, qualities, and gifts. Yet I can get impatient and then compare myself to someone else. I look away from my own path and I look at someone else’s. All of a sudden, I’m feeling doubtful, frustrated, and inept.  Have you been there too?

I’m learning as I get older that the more comfortable I am with myself, the more comfortable others are with me, as well. Confidence often comes from learning from our hurts, failures, and missteps. It also comes from realizing the good things about ourselves and learning to relish and enjoy those things.

Everyone gets insecure at some point in their lives. I’ve never met anyone who hasn’t felt that feeling of inferiority.  I think it comes more often when you are young, when you feel lonely, and when you are seeking approval from others. Knowing that, it helps you to fight against it by developing good friends who love you for who you are and finding approval from God first and foremost.

As for being young, you can only grow up so fast. But you can realize that seasons of your life will not last forever.  You can sidestep many catastrophes by learning to not care so much what others think of you. It’s crazy how people can sense when someone cares very much what they think. It gives them an elevated sense of power in your life. If they realize you are confident and comfortable with who you are, oftentimes they move on to pick on someone else.

That really is the key, isn’t it? Learning to be comfortable with who we are. Wherever God has placed us. There is joy to be found. Blessings to be had. And strength to be gained.

You are valuable. You have gifts. There is beauty to be found where you are and there is beauty to be found in WHO you are. 

Don’t let insecurity win one more moment of your heart.

Waiting For "Perfect"

We know when we dream, that there will never be a “perfect” time for our dreams to come true. Yet, we still seem to wait for it.  We know that not everything will be aligned as we think it should be, yet we still expect it to happen.

So we wait.

We wait for that “tomorrow” that may really be “today.”

We think. We dream. We plan. And then we chart and graph, and plan some more. We try to get everything set up all just right.

But we forgot one thing.

God loves to work in the unplanned. The uncharted and ungraphed. He loves to swoop in and knock us off our feet – just so we feel loved and blessed.

And yet, still….we wait for perfect. And in the process of what we think is us using great wisdom and great planning – we leave little room for our faith. We leave little room for God, because we have it all figured out. We know just how it’s supposed to go.

That’s why we often get flustered when it doesn’t ever seem to work out that way. And we wonder, why? We think we did everything right. We planned. We charted. We graphed. Everything seemed perfect.

Except we forgot God in our equation. We left Him out of it all together. We didn’t exercise our faith at all. Left no room for it to work either.

So what we THOUGHT was perfect? Was far from it.

The only “perfect” scenario when we dream and wish and plan? Is leaving room for God to work.

Gasp! They Sinned??

Sin. It’s an ugly word. It’s often uttered in hushed tones and gossiped from ear to ear.

“Did you hear about so-and so?”

In christian circles, we often like to use “veiled” words also. We don’t spell out what happened. We politely coin words and suggest something improper happened but we like to leave dignity to the offender.

And that’s okay. Accept that even christians gossip and spread rumors. And most of us have a very strong need to know the truth. The REAL story. So what is offered up as a way to quench any uproars from people, often spurs private conversations galore.

Everyone talks about “it.”

Let me just throw this out there. We ALL sin. Just because we love the Lord and may serve in a position of leadership doesn’t mean we don’t have weaknesses or areas of temptation. In fact, if we find ourselves in these roles, Satan may go out for us with even more fervor. He likes to ruin reputations, you see. Steal joy. Damage trust. Topple thriving, growing families and ministries. It’s his specialty.

I hate sin. Just because I know we all sin at times, doesn’t mean I don’t hate it. I hate it with a passion. I’ve seen how it tears apart, breaks, and cripples people. I’ve felt the hurt and shed the tears – as have many of us.

The thing is – how do we handle sin when it is revealed to us? If we find out one among us is pregnant, struggles with pornography, had an affair, stole, killed someone – how do we deal with our brother and sister in the Lord? Do we continue to whisper about them behind their back? Do we withdraw our love from them?

Most times, from what I’ve seen, is that we act as if suddenly someone that we admired is now flawed. When in reality, they always were flawed.

We don’t see everything in someone’s life. We don’t see them on the computer. We don’t always see how they treat their wife and kids. We aren’t always with kids when they go out for the weekend.

Whether or not we love the Lord isn’t the question. It’s whether or not we can call on God to give us the strength to do the right thing in a tempting situation.

I don’t want to turn my back on someone who is willing to try and “right” their wrongs. I don’t want to stop loving someone who I KNOW, is trying to get their heart and life right. And I don’t want to condemn or criticize – but I know that’s so easy to do.

I am imperfect. We are all imperfect. And we are not immune to satan’s attacks however he chooses to aim them at us. Alcohol, drugs, sex, abuse --- they exist and they are powerful.

Grace given. That’s what God did for me. And that’s what I need to do for someone else. It may not be easy. It may take a lot of prayer to get to….but we all make mistakes.

May we hold one another up when we do….instead of tearing each other down.

Struggling To Save the Me That God Created

Do you feel “lost?” Do you feel like you just might be swallowed whole by others in your life?

I think there are times in life where we feel these feelings and they are big warning signs. They are red flags waving fiercely in the sky that something is not quite right in our lives.

We should NEVER feel like anyone might consume us or swallow us up, if we allowed them to! There is no freedom in being uniquely ourselves in those confines of a relationship. None, whatsoever.

We need to be around people who help us flourish. People who encourage us and love us for who we are. Yes, those same people might occasionally need to give us a dose of honesty that stings – but they do it out of love. All in all – they are good for us.

If we find ourselves in a different scene altogether, then it’s time to figure out an escape plan.  Sometimes you just need to do what you need to do so that you don’t get completely swallowed up and lost by others. And don’t get me wrong. “Others” can take a giving heart, a loving heart, a willing heart….and totally eat it up. They can and will consume you if they are allowed to!

You deserve to be in a setting where you can be the “you” that God created. You need to be able to breathe freely and know that you will be loved regardless of the mistakes and flaws in your life.  And exercising your own mind, instead of simply following someone else’s agenda or dreams is a good place to start. 

Think for yourself.  Know your own mind and your own heart. Know what YOU want out of your life and what you are good at. Say “no” at times. Say “yes” at times! Follow your natural passions, bents, wishes, and dreams. Go against the grain, if you have to. But be YOU.

No one has the right to take up their own space and ours as well.  So often, we let them because we think we will have a better friend or be liked more. But it’s not true. And if it is, it’s only temporary until they no longer have a use for us.

We’ve allowed ourselves to be used too much.

Start fighting for yourself again. Fight for YOUR life and YOUR calling. For you do have one, you know! You have a purpose that is distinct and personal. 

Set out to find it and fulfill it – and don’t let anyone else swallow you up.

I Bet Your Kids Are Being Sneaky

I feel like I’m pretty “with it” as far as technological trends go. I have a smart phone, I’m on facebook, twitter and many other social apps. I try to stay with the trends and know about them. Often times, I’m on some media platforms before my kids.

But it’s getting harder and harder to keep up.

The freedoms our kids have, and the access to those freedoms is amazing. We can set boundaries, implement rules, and think we are on top of things – but still, there are new avenues and freedoms becoming available to them all of the time.

For instance. You can check your child’s phone. But do you know they can text from their ipod? There are many texting apps they can get.

You can check the photos on their phone or ipod. But do you know about snapchat? It’s an app that lets them send photos that someone can only see for a max of 12 seconds. (Even though someone can take a screenshot in those 12 seconds of that photo.)

You can be their friends on facebook and have access to their password and profile page. But do you know many teens are now getting on twitter to have conversations?

This is the world we live in. It’s not going away anytime soon. You have to be on top of things and even being on top of things doesn’t mean you can protect your child from everything.

Most kids aren’t trying to get into trouble. They just don’t want mom and dad to see them talking about that boy, or the drama they have at times with their friends. It’s not always something indecent or inappropriate that they are trying to hide from you. Although it could be.

We can’t check on everything. It’s impossible. For once you think you have something regulated, another new option comes up that hasn’t been discussed.

So what’s a mom or dad to do? How can you possibly protect your kids?

I still firmly believe in guidelines, rules, and boundaries. But since you can’t think of every app that’s going to come up and can only address those when made aware of them – the best thing to do is to go after your child’s heart. Make them WANT to clue you in on what they are using.  Give them the tools to know how to implement their own boundaries and guidelines and to listen to that inner voice that tells them, “this probably isn’t a good idea without supervision.” 

Hopefully we can have a relationship with our kids, that is strong. We can give them wisdom, discernment and integrity so that we won’t have to worry so much about what they are doing, and where. We will trust that they have good instincts.

All our kids want is to be like their peers. And to have freedom. What every kid has always wanted. But they don’t realize just HOW much freedom they have these days because they were born into it. This is all they know.

All these technological advances are a load of fun. I’ll admit. I have a blast with some of the new things created. But they are also aimed right at our kids and encouraging them to be sneaky and to live in a world that mom or dad isn’t a part of. Be a part of it. Participate.  Know what it’s all about. Talk. Love. And pray.

Why I Love Warm Weather

I love warm weather. I’m a summer girl. The sunshine does something for my heart, my soul….my attitude and outlook.

I really struggle in the wintertime. I probably wouldn’t have such a hard time if I lived in Hawaii, the Caribbean, or Phoenix. But where I am it gets bitterly cold.

I decided to compile a list of all the reasons why I love warm weather.

*The sunshine! I’ve lived where there were consistent cloudy and rainy days and it’s so gloomy. It really affects your attitude and you find yourself depressed more often. The sunshine (as proven) raises the right chemicals inside of you to make you happier, bouncier, and ready to take on the world a little bit better.

*Summer clothes are cheaper.  Let’s face it, sweaters are expensive! And then half the time they get lint balls on them that take countless hours to remove or the sweater looks ruined from the wash. Tshirts and little cute, bouncy rayon shirts are so much more inexpensive!

*I can show off my jewelry.  I rarely wear bracelets in the winter because my long sleeves hide them. In the summertime, you can wear fun bracelets, anklets, and even toe rings with some cute sandals.

*You don’t freeze while loading groceries in your car. Or while running in and out of stores in general. Or while pumping your gas. It’s just miserable to stand out in the chilly wind, rain, or snow.

*You don’t have to worry about the roads. Black ice. Fog. Snow. These are things that you don’t have to fret about when the warm weather comes in. The roads are nice and dry and if you leave the road, it’s your own fault – you can’t blame it on the weather.

*It’s prettier! Wintertime where I live is dead and brown. No leaves on the trees. No green grass. No blooming flowers. Warm weather brings out life and beauty.

*Lower electrical/gas bill. Yes, you might have a bill for running your air conditioner. But at least you can open the windows in the morning or evening to cool your home off a little bit – thus saving some money. In the winter, you can’t do that. You want everything sealed up. And just opening the door once brings in a flood of cold air that cools down the hours it spent to warm the place up.

*People are out and about more. I love watching people take walks in the neighborhood. Jog. Play with their kids. Talk to each other. In the cold weather, everyone hibernates or does it indoors. It seems warm weather just brings more LIFE to life.

*It’s easier to eat well. I have a harder time eating healthy in the cold of winter. Who wants to eat cold fruit or veggies when you’re cold? They are so much more inviting when you are warm!  More fruit is in season as well, which makes it fun to mix things up and get a variety of healthy fruits in your diet.

*I am motivated to move my body more. It’s hard to walk or exercise when you are cold. And there aren’t as many cold weather activities (unless you like skiing or snowboarding) as there are warm weather activities. The warm weather invites you to take a walk, play some volleyball, throw the Frisbee, work in the garden, ride a bike, or just move and do more projects around the house. You aren’t as likely to hibernate and curl up in a ball. Especially with it being light out later.

*Palm trees. Suntans. The smell of freshly cut grass. The sound of sprinklers. Ice cream trucks. A fresh breeze through an open window. A warm summer thunderstorm. Barbecues. Porch swings. Drive In Movies (if you can still find them around.)

I rest my case. For me, warm weather rules.  Just for those of you who like the cooler weather, I will say that I realize it’s not perfect. Especially if you live somewhere where there is high humidity, lots of bugs, and not much relief in the evenings. But overall, I do think warm weather is just about perfect for this bod of mine.

Someday – someday, I will once again live where the sun is king.

When It Feels Like The World Wants My Blood

One Night With a King is one of my very favorite movies. I have a lot of favorite movies – but this one is up near the top. It is the story of Queen Esther and how her courage saved the Jewish people from annihilation.

There is a point near the end of the movie where she has to summon up the courage to tell her husband (King Xerxes) that he issued an order to kill her people – and that that order also meant she was to be killed.  She had to do this in front of the very man who talked him into it because of his hatred for the Jews. Up until this time, Esther had concealed her heritage and it was not known that she was a Jew.

With great passion she says, “he wanted their blood. MY blood!” 

That is how I feel on some days.

I am a woman. So that brings up a lot of safety issues. In a world that is increasingly sexually deviant, I have to be very safety conscious. I have two daughters that I have to worry about as well.

Then, I am an American. I can’t simply travel anywhere anymore just being an American woman. I have to worry about someone wanting to harm me not just because I’m a woman…but also because I’m an AMERICAN woman. They hate me simply because I’m American.

And to top that off, I’m a Christian. I’m a female, American Christian. 

Society isn’t too kind towards Christians these days. They deem us “intolerant” when really; they are intolerant of us. Any trace of what we believe, is being rubbed out, obliterated, and erased as quickly as possible from society.

Yes, some days it feels like the world wants my blood.  Simply because of who I am and what I believe.

I haven’t done any crime. I haven’t hurt anyone. I just exist. And for that, there is a mark out for my life.

If you think I’m being extreme, think again.  Saeed Abedini is sitting in an Iranian prison being beaten, tortured, and denied medical treatment even though he is suffering internal bleeding and his kidneys are failing. He is American. He is a Christian. And he has done no crime. He is going through all of this simply because of who He is and what He believes. They wanted his blood, and they are currently getting it.

There are men and women all over the world like Saeed, who are sitting in prisons and labor camps simply because of what they believe.

I think we forget that this life is a battle. We forget what forces are at play and we go about our business ignoring the injustices in society because they don’t “affect me.” At least that’s what we tell ourselves.  But we are wrong. They do. The more morality deteriorates, the quicker the world will think what was once good is now bad. And that includes people with morals and values like me.

I am seen as the enemy because I speak truth. I believe truth.

And just as Queen Esther begged for King Xerxes to spare her people and save her blood, I, too, beg for it. I beg for people to not allow the world to unfairly treat Christians simply because of their faith. I beg for every nationality to not hate another simply because of their race.

Blood isn’t something cheaply given.

It’s good to remember that every time blood is shed, there WILL be a price.  Some day.

Every life matters. Every life has value.

Let’s stop seeking each other’s blood and instead start fighting for it.

Do You Know My Heart?

A long time ago, I was thrown into a difficult circumstance. It was a “he-said,” “she-said” kind of thing. It distressed me greatly. In part, because of the circumstance itself, but also because I hate it when people get me wrong.

I remember at the time really needing to hear my parents tell me that they agreed with me. I needed to hear the verbal words. I needed to know they understood my position and that they knew my heart.

Recently, someone dear to me has been going through another hard situation. I see her struggling with the same thing…being misunderstood.  I explained to her that anyone who really knows her heart, knows the truth.

You see, once you truly get to know someone, you know what they are capable of. So misunderstandings, misconstrued stories, and things you are told about someone can easily be filtered out, because you know their heart. You’ve seen inside of them and know what lives in them. You know what someone is or is not capable of.

It is so easy to vouch for someone’s character when you truly know their heart. It is easy to understand, support, and encourage someone when they are feeling beat up on by life, when you know their heart.

If someone took the time to get to know me, TRULY get to know me, they would never even question whether or not I would do or say certain things. They would KNOW.

So many things can turn messy and ugly so fast because of rumors, misunderstandings, and gossip.  If all we did was take a minute to think about what is being said and determine if that matches the heart and character of the person we knew – we could easily avoid a lot of pain on our part and a lot of unnecessary pain inflicted on an innocent person. Half truths, and stories that only tell one side can do so much damage.

We need to be careful.

Whether you are going through a falling out in a friendship, having a parent-child argument, a divorce, or an issue with your boss,  take a “pause” and a “time-out” and think about someone’s true colors. It is very easy to determine truth when you’ve taken the time to get to know someone’s heart.

Sometimes the answer may not be what we want to hear….but sometimes, it quickly brings everything into focus.

For the heart doesn’t lie.

When Your Kids Are Mad At You

Being a parent takes a lot of heart. You have to be intentional and know where you want to go with your kids. You have to know what end results are important to you or you can feel like you’re in a current at times, being swept out into an open sea. And that never feels fun.

I want my kids to enjoy me. I want them to consider me a friend especially as they get older. But there are times when – let’s face it – they just aren’t very happy with me. Not only that, they are out and out ticked at me.  Maybe I deserve it. After all, I’m new at parenting. Each child has their own distinct personality, character traits and bent in life. With each child, we learn a new way of parenting. We have to parent each child in slightly unique ways from the other.  But sometimes I don’t deserve the anger poured out at me. And it can hurt.

Perspective has been one of the most important things I can fall on when I find myself the focus of one of my children’s anger. I need to step back and look at the situation in several ways. I need to look at it through their eyes, through my eyes, through God’s eyes, and then from an objective point of view. It’s hard to remember all those angles all of the time, but if I can ponder and reflect before addressing the issue; I’ve found it’s easier to truly consider each of these frameworks.

Sometimes it’s very necessary for me to apologize. I am wrong. A lot. Or I’m right – but I handled my “rightness” in a wrong way. So I still need to apologize.

Sometimes I need to wait. For if I’m raising my kids with hearts that are sensitive and empathetic; once they have had time to reflect – they will come and apologize to me.

And sometimes – sometimes I need to address the anger in my child and call them on their behavior; nipping it in the bud before it can fester and grow into bitterness.

It’s tough to know which call to make. But perspective helps. And knowing that if you have a loving relationship with your children, they won’t always be angry with you helps a lot also. They are right to have emotions just as we are. We need to be able to let them feel free to have those emotions even if it’s not fun.

Family life can’t always be happy. We need friction in order to help our children learn how to handle emotions and how to grow in healthy ways. We need to be strong enough to take the brunt of things at times, to help them learn. Children shouldn’t “rule the roost” so to speak – but in respectful ways, they can still work through their mad feelings towards us.

Our job as parents is to always love. Always respect. And always believe in our children. If we can forgive and ask for forgiveness when it’s necessary, we can always repair bridges that got a little charred from a fire of heated anger. 

Hopefully, the relationships we are building are honest and open enough that they can endure many disagreements. For many disagreements shall come.

Dust Yourself Off

Rejected again.  Is that you? Do you feel like all your efforts fall on deaf ears…or cold hearts?  Do you wonder why you try?

There are a lot of hurting people walking our streets.  A lot of hearts have been burned, scorned, used, and abused.  I think a lot of people have given up on their dreams and on themselves.

We’ve lost our fight.

Is it because we’re afraid of getting hurt again? Is it because we don’t believe in ourselves anymore?

What if we give up on our dreams – what if we stop fighting – just before the point when everything changes? What if we’d held on for one more day. One more hour? What if we’d risked our hearts one – more – time???

I’m here to tell you to keep trying. Keep fighting for yourself and your dreams. Don’t give up on yourself. Dust yourself off and get back up on your feet again. Rub the bruises and start walking. Shake it off.

You can do this.

You CAN do this.

You CAN.

Someone out there will see the potential in you. Someone will believe in you. You just have to first believe in yourself.

Someone WILL love you. For you are loveable. You are special. You are unique. You are precious.

Dust yourself off. Believe in the unbelievable. Reach for the unreachable.

You have something to give. You are someone to love.

Please, dust yourself off. Keep trying. Don’t give up on yourself.

There is fight yet in you. 

The Battle of the Mind

I tend to lean towards “hypochondriac” more times than I’d like to admit.  I can google a symptom on the internet and diagnose myself with at least 3 different life-altering diseases or ailments. Not a good thing!

I can snip my hand with scissors and actually feel lockjaw setting in until I get in to the doctor and get a tetanus shot.

I can take two different vitamins/herbs and then start to wonder if they are a bad mix together…and actually think I’m feeling symptoms until I know some time has passed and I’m okay.

I have grown anxious over other things too. Snowy and icy roads. Someone breaking into our home. Accidents. Things happening to my kids.

It’s a battle of the mind.

Now that I’m more aware of this tendency in me, I am more proactive in fighting it. It doesn’t mean those times don’t come, but when they do, I fight them fiercely. I pray. I read scripture. I sing Sunday school songs in my head. I repeat God’s promises to me. And the battle recedes.

I’m reminded that satan would love nothing more than to win over my mind. He knows he can’t have my heart – so he engages my mind in a very real struggle. But I’m on to him. I know that anxiety and fear are two of his busiest and most successful tactics, not just on me, but on a lot of people.

I want my faith to be larger than life. I want it to be alive and ready for those arrows of anxiety when they come my way. And believe me, they WILL come. I want to cut them off before they even have a chance to take seed and grow in me.

So I ward off those areas that I know are weaknesses for me. I no longer try to google my health symptoms if I feel I could run away with what I read in my mind.

I try to avoid driving when I can in snow and ice because I know the stress and worry that it causes me.

I implement boundaries on my own mind and heart. I KNOW where my weaknesses lie and I don’t want to give satan any more ground!

We have a choice in how we think. Sometimes it’s a real fight and it may feel like we won’t win that battle waging inside of our minds. But we can. We CAN win it and we can be victorious with the Lord’s help.

Won’t you join me as I seek to remove this particular weak ground from my life? We no longer have to be victims of our anxious and fearful thoughts.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Games of the Past

We all reminisce at times. We salivate over our favorite candy that we enjoyed as a kid or remember shows we watched on television that are no longer.

We wish we could bring them back.

I have had fun from time to time bringing back old games from my childhood so that I can teach them to my girls and they can also enjoy them.  Let’s see if they don’t kick start your own memories a little bit.

Do you remember M.A.S.H.? C’mon. Most of us played it in school. We’d get some paper and fold it until we could number it, put our favorite states (or countries), the names of boys we liked in school, and then MASH (which stood for mansion, apartment, shack, or house.) We would then have our friend pick a number and proceed to open and close our paper game until we’d landed on how many kids they would have, who they would marry, and where they would live. A novel game – but one that amused us to no end.

Snap. Have you ever played snap? It’s a card game that is sort of like war with a regular deck of cards but it had animal faces on it. You’d dole out the cards evenly and each turn yours over at the same time. When you happened to turn over the same card your opponent had, you’d yell “SNAP!” Whoever said it first would get the other person’s cards that had been laid out until one person ends up left with no cards.  I LOVED this game and played it tirelessly.

Paper Football – You’d make a little football out of paper (the shape of a triangle) and tape it up and shoot it with your finger across a table back and forth at each other trying not to make it go off the table all together. I’m sure there were more rules and more of a point to this game, but that’s all I can remember.

Bloody Knuckles. We used to have those thick hair combs with a long handle.  Everyone would have them in their back pocket. (I know – dating myself here!) But we’d pull them out and someone would extend their hand, knuckles outward. We’d lay the comb on their hands and try to flip it over and slap them before they could pull their hand away. Of course, if you didn’t get your hand pulled away quick enough, you would get slapped and after many times your knuckles would be hurting pretty good!

String Games. There were so many. But cats in the cradle is the one I recall the most.

Marbles. I never got into marbles much, but my dad played marbles as a kid and had a big marble collection. I know children in third world countries are more familiar with marbles too.

Jacks. A great time killer to see how fast you are at trying to scoop up jacks before the ball lands on the ground!

Those are just a few I remember. How about you? What are some of your favorite childhood games? Have you played them with your kids?  Many things will be lost if we don’t pass them on to the next generation. Not only that, it’s a lot of fun to relive what gave us happy moments as a kid – and our children get a big kick out of it as well.

So have some fun, dig deep into your memories, pull out the paper, string, or marbles – and go for it.