I have something to...SQUIRREL!!!

Have you seen the animated movie, Up! ?  Remember Doug?  The dog in the cone of shame? Ya, I can relate to him.
I might have a mild case of adult ADD.  Or maybe I'm just a real scatter-brain.  Either way, my focus is, ummm, lacking a little something.  What's the word?  oh ya, Focus.  My focus lacks a little focus.  If you need a visual aid, please stop by my house and look at my sewing room and the stack of half-finished projects.  Wait.  Don't do that.  Just imagine the large stack of half-finished projects.  My house-keeping is sporadic, too.  And this blog, well, seeing as how the inspiration for this blog post came to me at 0720 on a school day, it will sit half-written on my lap top for most of the day I'm sure.  I love doing stuff, but I struggle sometimes to finish it.  I like to think its because I'm an idea kinda girl, not a details kinda girl.  The detail girls actually finish the stuff they start, but they need idea girls like me to give them the fabulous ideas we never  get around to finishing.  Like the quilt for my little diva that I started six months ago.  I haven't even finished putting the blocks together.  Or the crochet blankets for each of my children that haven't even been started yet.  Or the myriad of other projects floating around in my head.  Pinterest has great potential to be an idol for idea girls like me.  I have to restrict my Pinterest time.  Otherwise it can get obsessive.  So many great ideas.  Just waiting for me to start and not finish. This drives Mr. Smartypants, my husband, absolutely NUTS, by the way. 
I have a point to all the rambling about stuff I don't finish.  I promise.
The Lord has placed a calling on my life to minister to other women like me.  You know, broken, flawed, imperfect.  Mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, friends.  We seek female perfection, some of it worldly, some of it the Christian woman we've created in our society, our churches and in our own head.  None of it an accurate portrait of what Christ has called us to be.  Somewhere in all our busy-ness being that great Christian wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, we've missed the boat.  I could go on for days about the specifics, but that I will save for another blog post.  Today I'm focusing more on the logistics of following my calling.  You see, part of my calling has been to minister to women in the military community through a women's ministry in the military chapel.  It is a large, international ministry and I work at the local level.  But my time with this ministry is almost up and it's going to be time soon to move on to what God has for me next.  The problem is that my time is not up YET, but I have been given clear direction where God wants me doing ministry next.  The idea girl in me is already processing and thinking about my new "job".  But my other job isn't over yet.  So I have to keep my idea girl in check and make myself focus to finish the task at hand.  Acts 20:24 is very clear about how I should handle this situation I find myself in.
           "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."
When I saw this it spoke to me.  I have to finish this race.  Runners will tell you, never start training for, or even thinking about, the next race until you've finished the one you're running.  It can really mess with you.  While I can start training for and thinking about my next "race" in ministry, I have to focus so I can complete the task Jesus has given me for now.  
What task are you wanting to give up on?  Is there something you're tired of doing and you're ready to move on?  Need some focus?  Me, too.  So I'm focusing on Jesus.  
        

Kissin' Mama and Praisin' Jesus

Living in a military community often exposes me to a variety of *ahem* colorful language.  Soldiers often forget present company in conversations with other soldiers.  Many wives have adopted an easy way to lovingly remind soldiers to think before they speak.  "Do you kiss your mama with that mouth?" is a phrase with which we are all familiar.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on soldiers (or sailors for that matter), or trying to claim I'm perfect.  Not at all.  But in my Bible study time recently I stumbled across a Biblical version of "Do you kiss your mama with that mouth?" that caught my attention.
I've been studying the book of James lately.  Tearing it apart, really, verse by verse.  I've read it before, several times, but this time a specific set of verses stuck out at me.  And hit me like a ton of bricks.  Hard.  "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be." -Jame 3:9-10 
And how often do we do it?  Just like James described in scripture almost 2000 years ago, we make the same mistake many people in the early church made.  Almost in the same breath we lift up the name of our Lord and tear down our neighbor. Our out-of-control tongue is to blame.  And it gets worse!  James tells us we can't control it.  It could be described like spiritual Turrets Syndrome.  So how do we stop it?  Simple and yet oh so very difficult. We give it over to Christ.  "I can do all things (even control my tongue) through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13.  As hard as it seems, we can do it.  We can choose to praise Him without cursing our fellow man.  It's a tough job, but His mercies are new every day and no matter how badly we did yesterday, He'll be there with mercy for us today.  There are many ways He provides His mercy to allow us to do the impossible.  One way is through friends who hold us accountable.  So the next time you see your Christian sister (or me!) tearing someone down, ask her this question:  "Do you praise your Jesus with that mouth?"

Unused Gifts

Have you ever bought your children a new toy or game just to have them lose crucial pieces of it in a matter of days?  My youngest son received a game for Christmas in which you make monkeys jump into a series of cups by popping a tab on the back of the little plastic monkey.  It's January 3rd and several monkeys have disappeared without a trace.  If you believe my children, who claim to always put them back when they're done, the plastic monkeys grew real legs and jumped away on their own.  As a mother, this frustrates me to no end that this is a gift that is now going to be unused.  But how many of us have unused gifts.  Do you have a pile of things to be returned or exchanged?  A sweater that doesn't fit?  A toy from a distant relative that isn't age appropriate for you children?  Maybe you have clothes hanging in  your closet with the tags still on them from Christmases past.  What about that heart-shaped waffle maker you got 3 Christmases ago?  How many times have you used it?  We all have received gifts that go unused.  I am no exception to this.  And it's not just Christmas or birthday gifts that we all leave unused in the back of our closets.  Our gifts and talents given to us by God to be used to glorify Him and encourage the Church are often left unused, or worse, used for selfish gain.  Scripture is clear when it says that "Every good and perfect gift is from above," -James 1:17.  (emphasis mine)  The gifts God has given us are perfect.  There is no defect.  They fit us.  They aren't broken.  There is no good reason why we shouldn't be using them.  As the new year starts and the calendar starts to progress forward, my New Year's resolution is to use my gifts.  I'm not talking just about spiritual gifts, which are incredibly important.  I'm talking about talents and abilities given to me.  He has made me unique with a unique combination of talents and abilities.  If I'm not using them to glorify Him and serve the Church, then I am not using them as intended or I'm not using them at all.  And since one of my abilities is communication, you should be hearing a lot more from me here on this blog.  This year, my gifts will be brought out of the back of the closet and used.

Imperfect Progress

Welcome to my chaos.  That is where I live most days.  Ok, let's be real.  That's where I live everyday.  I am a creative brain which lends to messiness and confusion to those looking in.  I know where everything is most things are.  I'm not perfect.  I don't claim to be.  I make mistakes, lot's of mistakes.  But I have a solution to my problem:  God's grace.  You see, even though I am a walking bag of chaos, I am surrounded by God's grace.  He forgives my imperfections and fills me with the Holy Spirit where my chaos is no longer an issue.  It's a great feeling.  And as long as I live in this state of grace, I continue to make progress, not perfect, but progress none-the-less.  Lysa TerKeurst calls it Imperfect Progress.  And I'd have to agree.  So if you find yourself in the midst of chaos, or you want to make progress but you're imperfect, or you just want to hear about my running adventures, stick with me.  We'll be learning together along the way.  You'll find devotions, my thoughts on parenting, being a wife, ministry, links to great books and Bible studies, as well as nutrition information, healthy and not-so-healthy recipes and updates on my running progress as I prepare for my very first half-marathon.  Life is an adventure.  God has promised us not just life, but life abundantly.  Let's live our adventures in abundance.