What Matters

I've spent some time meditating on the events of the last 24 hours.  Our country is reeling from so much violence.  The recent police-involved shootings and the outrage of violence that followed in Dallas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri... it's a lot to take in.

I feel so overwhelmed.  Where do we go from here?  What can we do?  Is there any hope for unity in our society, or have we just gotten so far out of hand?  I don't know what else to do, so I decided to sit in prayer and meditation.  And just as I had asked, God answered with comfort that only He can provide.  And in that time of meditation, I pondered some essential truths that I think we need to be reminded of:

1. Lives Matter.  Black lives matter.  And so do white lives.  And brown, and yellow, and green, and purple... you get the idea.  God has loved every person on the face of this earth before they were born.  He knew how they would live, what challenges they would face, and what adversities they would either overcome or fall to - all before they were knit in their mothers' wombs.  All lives matter to God, and they should matter to us, no matter what they look like.

2.  Your Identity Matters.  Your identity is not tied only to the color of your skin, or which box you check on standard government forms.  Our identity is found in Christ, not in the color of our skin, the shape of our eyes, or the language we speak.  It is in our spiritual DNA that the best part of us can be found.  God has placed His fingerprint on all of our lives.  We are all created in His image, made to be His representatives on Earth.  And there will come a time when these earthly bodies will fade and our new, perfect, heavenly bodies will reveal what scripture has been telling us all along - we are made to be just like our Creator.    

3.  Joy Matters.  No one should ever live in fear.  No black man should live in fear of being shot during a routine traffic stop.  No police offer should live in fear of being ambushed during a routine house call.  No woman should live in fear of sexual assault when she is gathering water at a well in a remote village.  No person, of any gender, race, sexual orientation, or faith, should be afraid of being harmed for any reason at any time.  While it is tragic that a particular group of people feels that they are the targets of police violence, or other groups feel that they have been unfairly portrayed as being hateful, I want to remind everyone that no life should ever be treated with disrespect.   And no one should have the ability to steal our joy by keeping us oppressed in fear. 

4.  Our Differences Matter.  We are all created so differently, so uniquely, and have been given different and special gifts, talents, skills, and blessings so that we can be useful to the kingdom of God.  The fact that some of us have lighter or darker skin colors, different colors and textures of hair, and different body shapes speaks to the creativity of our God.  He made no two exactly alike - even identical twins aren't really "identical."  He rejoices in our uniqueness, and yet He loves all of us equally.  

5.  Your Roots Matter.  A white male should never feel that his "whiteness" or "maleness" is something to be ashamed of.  No black person should feel second-class because their skin is darker.  No hispanic person should feel that they are lacking their basic human rights because of their country of origin.  We were all created to be one-of-a-kind, and God absolutely rejoices in the beautiful, unique person each of us is!  If every person on earth had the exact same skin tone, the world would be a pretty boring-looking place.  But our creative God gave us all different shades and hues of hair, skin, and eyes.  And guess what?  He absolutely loves the colors you have!  And He created them all to be particularly un-common.

6.  What You Can and Cannot Control Matters.  There are a lot of things you can control about yourself.  If someone criticizes you for being inexperienced, you can gain experience.  If someone claims you are ignorant, you can educate yourself.  But no one can change their heritage.  You have no control over the type of genetic material from which you have evolved.  No more than I can make myself turn into an amphibian, a person of African descent cannot make themselves become Asian or Latin or Caucasian.  It doesn't work that way.  So when someone throws around racial slurs, it is especially cutting because that part of our being is completely beyond our control.  We can't choose our parents (though we may wish we could!).  We can't choose our heritage.  We can't choose our ethnic roots, our ancestors, or our conception.  It's just not possible.  But we can take comfort in the fact that our loving Heavenly Father did.  He knew where we should be placed for the biggest impact on the world He loves.  You can choose to take refuge from your circumstances, or you can choose to be fully and actively present in your circumstances.  God has placed everyone in a special time and place so that our unique traits can be used to glorify the One who sent us; however, whether we choose to glorify Him or not is our choice (free will is an entirely separate blog post!).

7.  Your Purpose Matters.  I don't know what every individual human being's purpose on Earth is, but I imagine it differs greatly from person to person.  I don't think anyone else has exactly the same purpose, or can make exactly the same impact, that I have been created for.  Perhaps our individual missions may overlap, but our wonderful, creative God has put within each of us a special reason to exist that no one else has.  Know that.  Embrace that.  Fulfill that.  

I hope that as these events continue to unfold, and as more information becomes available, we choose to love each other.  I pray that we come together, and not fall prey to the enemy that would have us divided and doing his dirty work.  We are created for so much more than anything this world has to offer, but we can make it good while we are here.

Love each other, and yourselves... just as God first loved you.

You matter to Him.

God's Love is Colorblind

We've likely all seen the news today.  Or at least this week.  Someone was profiled in some way for being non-white.  We thought we were long past the days of segregation and apartheid.  But it turns out we were wrong.

It's sad to me that racial stereotypes live on.  It's sad that profiling based on the appearance of a person still happens.  It's sad that someone's gender will decide if he or she gets the job.  But it's the world we live in. 

Besides the fact that it makes you a huge jerk, do you know what's wrong with thinking this way?  That God doesn't make junk, and therefore none of us - created in His image - are junk, either.  He doesn't look on the woman and think, "Oh, poor, pitiful creature.  You don't deserve an income equivalent to your male counterpart."  And he doesn't look to the Muslim and think, "Well, you could've been one of mine, but you chose not to be so I guess it's cool if you never fly on a plane or enter a federal building ever again."  No.  Not at all.  God pursues all in the same way.  He looks at the faithful servant, the prodigal son, and the one who does not yet know Him with the same lens - a lens of loving grace.

See, the trouble with thinking that God can only love those who love Him is that we limit the amount and kind of love our God can provide.  And if we limit His love, we have made it virtually impossible that His son has paid the ultimate price for our sin, and Christianity falls apart.  God's love surpasses ours.  He sees each heart for what it was at creation - a work of His hands; at present; and in the future.  He sees the potential in each of us to do work for His kingdom.  He sees the amount of love we have to give.  He sees past our gender, our race, or even our faith.  Yes, God loves the faithful Muslim, the loyal Morman, and the religious Catholic all the same.  And if He can see past all of this in order to give us His love, why can we not do the same?

Or at the very least, why can we not stop hating each other for the things that God doesn't even see?  And if the Creator of the Universe isn't worried with it, then why should we be? 

Standing up in war

I remember a time when I was very young, around 7 years old.  My brother was only about 4.  We were watching TV with my dad one evening.  It was M*A*S*H, one of my favorites. During heavy shelling, Hawkeye and another doctor were called away to assist near the front line.  At one point, while everyone was taking shelter in bunkers and foxholes, a young soldier stood up to make a run for it.  Upon rising up into the line of sight, he was shot.  Thankfully M*A*S*H was not an ultra-realistic drama.  The soldier spun around and landed on the ground with a thud.  My brother, not quite school-aged, turned to my dad, eyes wide, and declared with his most serious voice, "NEVER stand up in a war!"

Even at the tender age of 4, my baby brother understood that standing up in times of intense hostility would result in becoming a target, and it was possible that everything, even your very life, could be lost.  If you want to stay alive, lay low, keep from getting noticed and making waves, and whatever you do... NEVER stand up in a war.

Today is MLK Day.  I was tempted at first to find some of the excerpts from my favorite speeches.  Dr. King was a phenomenal writer, and very inspirational.  But as I started sifting through and organizing my thoughts and sequencing the quotes and excerpts, I began to ponder the content.  What on earth would make a man say these things?

Consider the climate of the day.  Temperatures are running hot in the deep south, and tensions were on the rise as more and more black folks were coming to realize that the law, and society as a whole, was failing them.  They were discredited, discounted, and dissatisfied.  But white folks in the south had all the power, and all the money, and politically united to forget about the underpaid, underserved, and undervalued African-American minority.  Segregation was more of a nuisance in comparison to the political barricades a person of color would face when wanting to consider college, buying a home, or applying for work.  When things finally reached a boiling point, blacks were willing to face imprisonment, physical abuse, and in some cases even their lives to prove a point to lawmakers.

Dr. King believed firmly that blacks in America had not just earned the privilege of being treated with respect, but deserved the God-given right to things like walking down the street without fear of taking a bullet, sending their children to school without lynching, and worshipping in their church of choice without fear of being blown to bits.  He wasn't asking for treatment that was better than what white Americans were enjoying.  He wanted equality.  But he wasn't willing to compromise his integrity to get it.  He believed that doing things right was the way to prove to white lawmakers that blacks were capable of functioning in white society.  And he preached non-violent resistance.  The stakes were high, the war was on, and he was standing up.

Beautiful, his speeches are.  And reading them is like stepping back in time.  They preserve history, they reflect an inner meditation, and they are a call to action.  But these speeches are also a giant target on the back of their author.  Dr. King paid dearly for his writings and his beliefs.  He stood up in a war.

There are a multitude of things one can take away from the life, and death, of Dr. King.  But this one thing stands out to me: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Stand up.

Fear is a Liar

Tomorrow is the big day.  Yup.  Finally.  After 17 years.  It's really happening.  I'm doing it.  Jumping in.  I'm going to the gym.

I know you were expecting it to be something really big and spectacular.  And maybe for most "normal" people, this doesn't qualify.  But for me, and for a lot of people who have the kinds of weird personality quirks I have, this is HUGE.  

You see, the gym represents two very large, very real fears for me:  1)  social anxiety, and 2) germs, and lots of them.

Okay, so I've probably lost you by now.  But try to hang with me on this.

I have a terrible fear of judgment.  I think to some degree we all have the fear of being judged and rejected.  But then there are some of us for whom this fear is crippling.  Without being overly dramatic, I can tell you that the fear of knowing someone is looking at me, and possibly having a thought that, if spoken aloud, would hurt my feelings, literally gives me cause to freeze up.  I panic.  True story:  I once refused a dinner date because I was afraid that at the restaurant people would think I was too fat to order anything but salad.  Yes, it sounds a little bit off, and maybe I'm overly paranoid.  But that's my fear.  And it's real.  I don't just say dramatic things for attention.  Ask my husband.  My fear of people and their potential negativity has cost me countless opportunities to socialize and hang out.  I am so afraid of judgment that one summer I spent an entire Mexican vacation in shorts and a t-shirt because I didn't want my closest friends - friends whom are among my most intimate of relationships and know some of my deepest, darkest failures and flaws along with some of my biggest accomplishments and brightest qualities - to see me in a bathing suit.  And never mind the thousands of strangers on the beach that I couldn't handle seeing me in such a condition.  It's not make-believe, y'all.  It's absolutely real.

At least, in my mind it is.  I skip social events because of it.  I avoid eating or drinking things I might like because of it.  I don't go to clubs or dances.  You'll rarely catch me poolside.  Get on stage?  Never.  Go shopping with girlfriends?  Not if it means I have to try on clothes.  Go out to eat?  Maybe, but I won't eat much and I won't order a cocktail.  I'm afraid of what other people think of what I do, what I wear, what I look like, what I sound like, what kind of car I drive, where I live, what I believe... seriously.  So naturally, a place like a public gym is a difficult place for me to go.  They'll all be staring at me, waiting for the new girl to mess up and do something stupid.  I'll look like a fool.  They'll see how out-of-shape I am.  

And then there's the germs.  If you know me well, you know that the idea of touching someone else's cooties is panic-attack material.  One summer in Guatemala, I went over 10 hours without urinating because my options were a public bathroom that consisted of a concrete hole and a curtain, and the jungle.  I don't touch handrails.  Ever.  I buy hand sanitizer by the gallon.  I wretch at the thought of a cafeteria line.  Germs were meant to be kept private and personal, not be shared with the masses.  And in a gym, you have the absolute perfect breeding ground for MRSA and other icky-nasties.  There's always "that guy" who sweats buckets on a machine and doesn't wipe up after himself.  And even though you can bet your whole paycheck that I will be the reason the gym runs out of antibacterial wipes this week, there's still that thought in the back of my mind that I missed something.  And now I'm laying in it.

I'm making light of it, because there is an element of humor to the situation.  But to be transparent, these fears aren't that funny.  Do you know how many hugs I've tried to avoid because of the germ factor?  Do you know how many girls nights out I've missed out on because of social anxiety?  These illogical compulsions to behave according to an irrational fear have absolutely stolen my joy and robbed me of life experiences.

But that's fear.  That's how it operates.  It consumes your thoughts until reality is so distorted that you have no choice but to believe the absolute worst in a situation.  They'll think I'm fat and I'll get an infection!  To you, that seems like horse feathers!  But to someone like me, that's a real possibility.  And it scares me.

But tomorrow, I'm doing it.  Tomorrow morning I meet with my personal trainer for the first time.  This person is going to measure me - they'll know my size and my measurements.  They're going to instruct me - they'll know that I'm terribly out of shape.  They're going to watch me - they'll see that I'm imperfect and I don't know what I'm doing.  They're going to work with me - I'll have to touch the equipment.

The thing is that fear is a liar.  Fear tells you that you can't do what you may want to do because the things that are remote possibilities, at best, are your reality.  And that's not true.  It's not an absolute certainty that everyone in the gym tomorrow morning is going to pass judgment about my body, my skill level, my looks, or anything else.  It's not an absolutely certainty that every surface I touch is teeming with some kind of dangerous virus waiting to invade my body.  But fear wants me to believe that those things aren't just possible or even probable, but that there are absolute.  Fear wants me to stop moving forward, and stay right where I am, in my bubble.  Fear wants to keep me miserable and stagnant, because that's where fear thrives.

Fear wants me fat, sad and miserable.  Fear says, "you'll never get to the gym because it's gross and people there don't like you."  Fear tells me that my friends think I'm fat.  Fear tells me that Guatemala is too dirty.  Fear shouts, "going out with your friends will only end in heartache!"

Fear is a liar.

My appointment is at 9:30 am.

#365daysofthankfulness

With 2014 nearly behind us, I reflect back on the year.  It wasn’t everything I had hoped it would be, or everything I had planned for it to be.  But I ambitiously set out on January 1, 2014 to find something to be thankful for every day.

Funny thing about choosing gratitude – the enemy doesn’t like it.  I’m not one who believes that Satan lies around every corner or hides behind every bush, but it wasn’t until I made the conscious effort to find things to be thankful for that I really felt him laying snares for me to fall into.  But I kept in mind that I am told in scripture to be thankful in every circumstance, not necessarily for every circumstance.

And every day, I left myself a sticky note somewhere that I knew I would see it more than once throughout the day of one little thing that I was going to be thankful for that day.  Something I could pray for, and meditate on that day.  And a miraculous thing happened: I become more and more thankful as the year went on.  Of course, as my gratitude increased, so did my trials.  But I pressed on.  In every circumstance, not for every circumstance.

I tried to share my thankful notes on Instagram with the hashtag, #365daysofthankfulness.  At one point, during the summer, Instagram stopped allowing me to post.  I consider this another tactic of the enemy, but I could be wrong…

What I want for everyone to understand is that gratitude is a choice.  As you’ll see, some days it was difficult to find something to be thankful for.  Some days, it came easy.  But every day I had to make the choice to be grateful, and not take the blessings – as numerous as they are – for granted, because I have truly been blessed beyond measure.

Here are my #365daysofthankfulness :

I am thankful…

01/01       for a new year

01/02       for scarves

01/03       for food – lots of it!

01/04       for family visits

01/05       for naps

01/06       for winter vacation

01/07       for my job

01/08       for music

01/09       for umbrellas

01/10       for 30 years of memories with my mom

01/11       that yesterday is behind me

01/12       for my church

01/13       for coffee

01/14       it is not Monday

01/15       for “hump days”

01/16       for no traffic on 59!

01/17       it is Friday!

01/18       for the precious young faces of Guatemala

01/19       for Abby & her creative heart

01/20       Matt comes home today!

01/21       for clean water

01/22       for hand lotion

01/23       I’m having a hard time feeling thankful, but I’m thankful to be alive

01/24       for pay days

01/25       I get to serve the homeless of Houston #kyliesprayer

01/26       for Marshall

01/27       for days off

01/28       for a “snow day”

01/29       for my “work family”

01/30       for self-control

01/31       for Bo, my big, loud, lovable, furry black friend, Bo

02/01       for sweet Wes

02/02       for Lysol, Clorox, and Germ-X

02/03       for a pantry full of food

02/04       for my busy calendar

02/05       for my small group

02/06       for my heated car seats

02/07       for my slow cooker

02/08       for Saturdays

02/09       for Sundays

02/10       for unfailing love

02/11       for routines

02/12       that my husband was born on this day

02/13       for the airplane and pilots that will bring my husband home to me

02/14       I am loved

02/15       for love notes

02/16       for people who serve

02/17       for Mondays off

02/18       for days with no practices, meetings, rehearsals, etc.

02/19       I can be there for kid “sick days”

02/20       for healing

02/21       for mercies new

02/22       my husband is willing to serve the people of Haiti

02/23       for my daddy

02/24       for fruit

02/25       for love that pursues my furiously

02/26       for shelter from the cold

02/27       for Freedom Fighters #enditmovement

02/28       I only have one more sleep until Matt comes home

03/01       for hard work

03/02       for the 4 lbs. I lost this week, & 1 BMI point

03/03       God answered prayer, Jessica is cancer-free on her birthday!

03/04       for coats and scarves

03/05       for grace

03/06       nightmares aren’t real

03/07       that it’s the last Friday before Spring Break

03/08       my mom isn’t suffering, even if it feels like I am

03/09       for a snuggly, comfy bed

03/10       for sleeping in

03/11       for no plans

03/12       that my husband is a good provider

03/13       I can pay my bills on time

03/14       it’s pi day

03/15       for the luxury of a hairdresser

03/16       for change in weather

03/17       the kids are back in school

03/18       to be back at work

03/19       for intelligent conversation

03/20       for a drama-free morning

03/21       for a special co-worker, and I am sad to see her leave

03/22       for hot showers, clean dishes, & refreshing drinks #worldwaterday

03/23       for the rodeo

03/24       for a husband that helps

03/25       that I am NOT bored

03/26       for opportunities to share

03/27       for “anti-depressants” (coffee, chocolate)

03/28       for mutual friends

03/29       for the opportunity to serve in my community

03/30       for vacations

03/31       for modern medicine

04/01       for the empty waiting room

04/02       for a tank full of gas while I sat in traffic

04/03       for light traffic, hot coffee, & loud music

04/04       that I have 2 strong legs for dodgeball

04/05       that someone wants me on their team

04/06       for my Sunday routine

04/07       for the next right step

04/08       that God is teaching me to be flexible and patient

04/09       for words of encouragement from special friends

04/10       that I was taught the difference between right & wrong

04/11       for remote controls

04/12       for healthy ideas

04/13       for flowers

04/14       for my 2 healthy legs that propelled me 2 miles this morning

04/15       for healing #bostonstrong

04/16       for my tax refund

04/17       for the mystery, power, and beauty in lightning

04/18       for beauty in nature

04/19       for lessons in history

04/20       for my risen Lord & Savior

04/21       for my church family

04/22       for Cheerios!

04/23       to be an Administrative Professional at Logos Prep

04/24       for a workplace of uncontrollable laughter

04/25       for days with sunroof open on the way to work

04/26       for Little League

04/27       for friends that are fun to hang out with

04/28       for kind texts

04/29       for birthday celebrations

04/30       that my kids can do a lot for themselves

05/01       for my home state  #californialove

05/02       for good advice

05/03       that I was born on this day!

05/04       that my husband puts a lot of effort into serving

05/05       that God comes through in mysterious ways

05/06       for the teachers who pour into my kids  #thankateacher

05/07       for a few more pounds gone

05/08       for all of the precious elementary kids who are enjoying their last day of school

               @LogosPrep today.

05/09       for the AWESOME junior high and high school kids who are celebrating their last day of

               school @LogosPrep today  #lovemyjob

05/10       for quality time with my in-laws  #family

05/11       for crawfish!

05/12       for my sweet Abby girl, born on this day 9 years ago!

05/13       for my mother-in-law, and special time I get to spend with her.

05/14       that I got to be a part of the #classof2014

05/15       for leftovers in the Crock Pot #mmm

05/16       for @LogosPrep seniors!

05/17       for the opportunity to meet new neighbors

05/18       that I will do things I do not like for people I love

05/19       I made an appointment

05/20       that I can afford a sick day

05/21       that I’m feeling better!

05/22       for “ponytail days”

05/23       for flowers

05/24       that my husband knows my insecurities and helps me battle them

05/25       to sit by my husband in church

05/26       for the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, not just that I might live, but 

                that I would live free.

05/27       for a loving Heavenly Father who always comes through

05/28       for sunshine and rain (at the same time!)

05/29       all of this on my calendar is about to slow down

05/30       for peace and quiet… when I can get it           

05/31       that the year is half over!

06/01       for the financial blessings I have been given to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17)

06/02       that my husband likes my family

06/03       to be wearing jeans in a size smaller than this time last week!  #smallvictories

06/04       for facetime and texting

06/05       my kids have done so well in school

06/06       I get to spend time with my sisters tonight, celebrating my niece’s graduation!  Woohoo!

06/07       for a husband who picks me up when the world knocks me down

06/08       for wisdom in scripture

06/09       for waking up without an alarm clock

06/10       for air conditioning!

06/11       for hump days!

06/12       for shade

06/13       that I can give the kids a list of jobs to do while I’m at work

06/14       for a willingness to forgive

06/15       for my dad, my step-dad, my grandfathers, and my husband – all amazing dads!

06/16       that I didn’t chicken out

06/17       for “our song”

06/18       Wes made my coffee

06/19       for VBS!

06/20       for Sugar Creek Baptist Church and all their hard work for VBS

06/21       that I don’t have to go to work today

06/22       that there is just one week between me and my trip to Nicaragua

06/23       for a day off to run errands and get prepared for the week ahead

06/24       for the generosity of my work family

06/25       for the thoughtfulness of the folks I work with

06/26       that my work family supports missions

06/27       for Starbucks in Ardmore, Oklahoma

06/28       for last minute preparation

06/29       for the opportunity to serve with @LivingWater in #nicaragua

06/30       for the team that lives in Nicaragua, serving with @LivingWater every day

07/01       for worship in different languages

07/02       for lessons in forgiveness

07/03       for cute Nicaraguan babies!

07/04       for freedom

07/05       for nuevas experiencias

07/06       that washing machines can get stinky mud out!

07/07       for the kindness of strangers

07/08       to be back at work, sharing my experiences.

07/09       for cold, clean drinking water

07/10       for summer work hours

07/11       for Fridays!

07/12       for sunshine

07/13       for my church – a place to have fun!

07/14       for my sweet friend, Jill.  Happy birthday!

07/15       for temporary distractions

07/16       for 16 years of first dates with an amazing man #lovemyhusband

07/17       for quick getaways

07/18       for sweet memories

07/19       for romance

07/20       for home

07/21       for sturdy luggage

07/22       for time to clean out my inbox

07/23       for the man who held my hand through 24 hours of labor and pain 15 years ago today 

                #lovemyhusband

07/24       for my beautiful first-born son, born 15 years ago today (Psalm 127:4-5)

07/25       to have opportunities to travel and sight-see

07/26       for my vision

07/27       for friends that I look forward to spending time with

07/28       for sunscreen and flip-flops

07/29       for fun trips to Mexico with friends!

07/30       for Puerto Vallarta!

07/31       for poolside margaritas and guacamole

08/01       for people I trust to watch my kids  J

08/02       that I have the freedom to travel

08/03       for lifelong friendships

08/04       that my husband loves me just the way I am

08/05       for spa treatments

08/06       for passports

08/07       for pay days

08/08       that I don’t have to work hard

08/09       for Saturdays with the family

08/10       that I don’t have to parent alone

08/11       for my partner in crime ;)

08/12       for all the “little lions” that start their first day back to school @LogosPrep today!

08/13       for love and friendship

08/14       for the super sweetness of the bruises in bananas

08/15       for my flexible work schedule

08/16       for tan lines

08/17       for Sunday lunch

08/18       for all the hours spent cleaning my house – it means I have plenty of room!

08/19       that I have extra money at the end of my pay check!

08/20       for people God puts in my path to teach me more about Him

08/21       for the challenges that make me stronger

08/22       for pay days!

08/23       for access to food…

08/24       for digital photography

08/25       for coupons!

08/26       that I am needed

08/27       for modern dentistry

08/28       that I can play a vital role

08/29       that I am available for my family

08/30       for fall baseball

08/31       for fried pickles

09/01       for all the teachers I work with

09/02       for long-distance learning and “webinars” in my jammies

09/03       that “old dogs” can learn new tricks

09/04       that I love working @LogosPrep

09/05       that I can start putting out fall decorations

09/06       for fall Saturday traditions

09/07       for Sunday routines

09/08       for quiet moments

09/09       for a blank calendar

09/10       I am on time

09/11       for fall flavors

09/12       for Pumpkin Spice Lattes

09/13       for football!

09/14       that last week is behind me

09/15       for clean, healthy teeth

09/16       for a little grace when it is needed most

09/17       for a marriage filled with love and joy

09/18       for protection from elements

09/19       for a nap during a thunderstorm

09/20       that my husband is compassionate

09/21       for a message about fear, worry, and anxiety (Psalm 56:3)

09/22       that Brian is finally at peace

09/23       for immeasurable grace

09/24       for the reassurance that “We know that all things work together for good to them that 

                love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

09/25       that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)

09/26       for closure

09/27       for strength

09/28       for my church family, their love & support, and their encouragement

09/29       that no one minds when I sleep with the lights on

09/30       that I have somewhere to go after I sit in all this traffic

10/01       that fall weather is coming!

10/02       that God is bigger than cancer

10/03       for sunshine and warm temperatures

10/04       for the power of prayer

10/05       for the rock higher than I

10/06       that all I ever have to be is what He made me to be

10/07       for open minds and open hearts 

10/08       for small groups – perfect groups of imperfect people

10/09       for responsibilities

10/10       that the sun rose again

10/11       for college football

10/12       for opportunities to worship

10/13       for oatmeal cookies

10/14       that I did not have to grow up without both parents

10/15       for things that are pumpkin flavored

10/16       for Halloween decorations

10/17       that it is fall!

10/18       for Rotel dip

10/19       for a good night’s sleep

10/20       that things are getting better

10/21       for someone to talk to

10/22       for a loving partner

10/23       that I can combat jealousy

10/24       that I chose joy

10/25       that November is almost here!

10/26       for Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin

10/27       that I can work from home

10/28       that I am not running late

10/29       for birthday celebrations with co-workers!

10/30       for fall clothes

10/31       for silliness and fun!

11/01       that November is here!

11/02       that Germany is only 2 weeks away!

11/03       for plans that fall neatly into place

11/04       that my husband lets me work

11/05       for my small group, and their desire to serve

11/06       for cell phones

11/07       for Facebook

11/08       for snuggly socks

11/09       for scarves!

11/10       for new friends

11/11       for technology

11/12       that someone is looking out for my online health

11/13       for pay checks!

11/14       for hard work paying off

11/15       for professionally trained pilots and crew

11/16       for international trips!

11/17       for the welcoming spirit of foreign cultures

11/18       for Berlin! 

11/19       for the lessons learned through history

11/20       for new experiences

11/21       for safe travel

11/22       for washing machines

11/23       for lazy Sundays

11/24       for an employer that values family time

11/25       the kids are in their last day of school for Thanksgiving!

11/26       for family traditions

11/27       for Thanksgiving dinner with people I love

11/28       for digital books

11/29       that there’s no place like home…

11/30       for my far-away parking space – because my two legs will carry me the distance

12/01       for electronic calendar reminders

12/02       for Excel and spreadsheets

12/03       for “unanswered” prayers

12/04       for the students and their families @LogosPrep

12/05       for Fridays spent in my pajamas

12/06       for Saturdays also spent in my pajamas

12/07       for Christmas decorations

12/08       for online shopping

12/09       for health and safety

12/10       for support from my dearest friends

12/11       that God never leaves me

12/12       for Christmastime traditions

12/13       for Christmas lights!

12/14       for a life well-lived (rest in peace, Loran)

12/15       that there are only 10 more days…

12/16       for Christmas songs

12/17       for my precious Wesley, born 11 years ago today!

12/18       for Christmas cookies!

12/19       that we can be comforted by family

12/20       for military honors given to a deserving man

12/21       for opportunities to turn lemons into lemonade

12/22       for long drives

12/23       that our long drive is over!

12/24       for 16 years of marriage to the man God made just for me  #lovemyhusband

12/25       for the birth of our blessed Savior and King

12/26       for the invitations from friends

12/27       for the outdoors

12/28       for speedy transportation!

12/29       for help with household chores

12/30       for sticky notes!

12/31       for another year behind me…