Thursday, October 26, 2017

God's Waiting Room

With my first week of training down, I am relieved to have the many unknowns now known, and a better vision of how to make the most and enjoy this season.

All things start with my home in order. My days off included everything important as well as having my home cleansed with special projects accomplished and everything in order. With more accomplished than I had initially planned, my balance feels firm and I am ready.

It's time.

The waiting room is a place when entered I am usually battered, bruised and hurting. It is a safe place, a place of healing, learning and growth. A place to rest, refresh, plug into God, and and where blurriness becomes clarity.


It takes a lot go into the waiting room, but this familiar room, once I am there I realize how much I have missed it.

Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and did nothing independently of the Father. With all the power of heaven and heaven sent, if He can't do anything God won't do, why on earth do we?

God works in mysterious ways. I confess I have given Him much opportunity to need to be creative with my given beautifully wild and carefree spirit. Notice I say given.

I woke up today and as I look across my home seeing everything accomplished it hit me, it's time.

I'm ready.

I am really ready to get out of the waiting room.

There are four specific things I need, I want, and am ready to do for me this week.

Farewell waiting room, hello new beginnings, and that one special thing I've wanted to do for decades and haven't. I'm ready.







Tuesday, October 24, 2017

#Enabler



#Enabled😳 Note the date of this disturbing post was 2014, 3 years ago, when my Mariah was 19 years old! Now a mom. Today she makes natural cleaning products. Not sure why great things happen once she moved out! 🤔 😄 I love you, sissy 💖
SHOCKING NEWS: Mariah is loading the dishwasher when she is under the sink looking for "the stuff" Brooke says goes in the dishwasher. I say, "It's right there"directly in front of her when my mommy-senses tell me something isn't right. She wasn't sure how to put the detergent in, which lead to the scary question of, "have you ever used detergent in the dishwasher?" Nope! 😳😳😳😳 
Mariah  This makes me laugh out loud!!😂😂 I'm pretty sure I was so #enabled , that I believe that was the first time I had to ever load and run the dishwasher 🙈😂 Oh my how things have changed, Praise The Lord!😁👏🏼 I love you too momma !💖
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Dawn  And I think of the time a plumber had to come out due to clogged pipes and I learned that day you had been dumping food down the kitchen sink for YEARS when we did not have a garbage disposal! 🙄 It is a good thing these were my biggest issues raising you! 🤔🤗💖😆 My name is Dawn and I am an enambler.
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Monday, October 23, 2017

Silence the White Noise


My intent was; however, the sweetest voice said, "Mom, I read you are going off the grid, but I read your blog every day ..."

This blog is my voice. It is a legacy of who I am for my girls and now my granddaughter. Intents can change and I've changed my mind on going silent for two months.

I read a devotion today, The Sound of Silence, and it spoke to my heart. So many times throughout the years I've written about being still, the beauty of the waiting room, and I appreciate this writers words eloquently put together about re-calibrating through absolute silence, a lost beautiful art in a world full of white noise.

A month ago, I had an opportunity that I had prayed about for months. A conversation I was about to have was everything to me. Given an opportunity I had been praying about, I came to the conversation begging God to be included, me knowing I had prayed about this fervently for so long I came raw and exposed out of respect for God and the matter I took seriously.

Sometimes you only have one chance and I believe there are critical moments in life there is wisdom in coming spiritually prepared.

Though the outcome can go in any direction, know you did your part. God knows.

While I am grateful, this important conversation was met with tings of texts and the constant ringing of phone calls. Ting, ting, ting, ringgggg, ting, ting, ting, ringggggg, ting, ting, ting, ringggggg, ting. Every time that phone was picked up and looked at, at every text reply, my heart dropped in the white noise that drowned the whispers of my heart that couldn't be heard over the constant disruption.

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when our words go silent and we do not even know how to put words together to pray. White noise shatters the connection and one cannot listen to the words our hearts are trying to say.

How would Esther's conversation have gone when she went to the King if he had a cell phone that wouldn't stop ringing?

Do your part and shush the noise of the world in important conversations, because you never know when your moment of "a time such as this" may happen and you are distracted.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

 “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’” Psalm 46:10a (NIV)

According to interruption science, we’re interrupted every three minutes. Sound familiar? (Or maybe three minutes is the most you’ll have today between interruptions!)

The very fact that we have a field of science dedicated to interruption is evidence of how bad noise has gotten in our world.

Consider this: For the past 30-plus years, an acoustic ecologist named Gordon Hempton has compiled what he calls “The List of the Last Great Quiet Places.” It consists of places with at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted quiet during daylight hours. At last count there were only 12 quiet places in the entire United States! And we wonder why the soul suffers.

It’s hard to tune out the voices of others, the call of social media, and the constant demands to do more and be more. But silence helps us hear God’s voice and sing His song.

Silence is the difference between sight and insight.
Silence is the difference between happiness and joy.
Silence is the difference between fear and faith.

Have you ever tried to quiet a loud room? Attempting to yell above the crowd usually doesn’t work. It’s far more effective to hush the crowd with a shhh. That’s the method God employs. His whisper quiets us, calms us, stills us. As we see in today’s key verse, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’” (Psalm 46:10a).

The “white noise” of the world might be the greatest impediment to our spiritual growth. By definition, white noise is a sound that contains every frequency a human can hear. And because it contains every frequency, it’s very difficult to hear any frequency -- especially the still, small voice of God.

When our lives get loud, with noise filling every frequency, we lose our sense of being. When our schedules get busy, we lose our sense of balance, which is a function of the inner ear.

Can I go out on a limb?

Your life is too loud.
Your schedule is too busy.

That’s how we forget that God is God. And it takes very little to distract us. “I neglect God and his angels, for the noise of a fly,” said the English poet John Donne.

Over the past decade, I’ve recorded a dozen audiobooks with a brilliant sound engineer named Brad Smiley. During our last recording session, Brad told me about standard operating procedure for sound mixers in his industry. Before going into the studio, they let their ears relax and recalibrate through absolute silence. Only then are they ready to listen, really listen. Acoustic ecologists call the process ear cleaning.

If you want to hear the heart of God, silence is key.
If you want the Spirit of God to fill you, be still.

The psalmists referred to God as their refuge, their fortress, and their ever-present help in time of need. But my favorite descriptor might be the “hiding place.” “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7, NIV).

The voice can reproduce only what the ear can hear. My prayer is that you’ll learn to discern God’s voice. When you do, His songs of deliverance can set you free.

Simply put, God often speaks loudest when we’re quietest. Silence is so critical to our spiritual vitality that it’s worth meditating on one word or phrase of Scripture at a time:

Be.
Be still.
Be still, and know.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
-- Psalm 46:10a



Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Off the Grid



Due to a life change and new adventure, I am going "off the grid" for two months.



See you mid-December!


Chubbilicious Snugglicious!

My last Wednesday off with my granddaughter. Her momma sleeping and I get hours of snuggle time and kisses.

Sofia was sleeping when I met up with them this morning, just waking up still sleepy, she saw me and her eyebrows shot straight up and she broke into a huge grin.

Her emotions reflect on her face like her momma and me and those eyebrows will shoot up in a heartbeat.

Two months old, she is so chubbilicious snugglicious!



I am so grateful for time this summer. Time with Mariah pregnant, time for Sophia's arrival and time bonding and establishing a close relationship with her.

It all matters. 
Sofia + Grandmomma

Monday, October 9, 2017

My Youngest Phone Conversation

My youngest phone conversation ever! 

I wasn't sure if it would work, but I Facetime'd Sofia.

There I am talking, smiling, being playful trying to get her attention to see if she recognizes me over phone video and for the first several seconds she just looked. Then, it happened ...


Sofia began to smile, started kicking her arms and legs and I had her coo'ing and sticking her tongue out! SUCCESS!

We had a fun conversation and now I can talk to my sweet grand baby from any distance.


Sunday, October 8, 2017

Look Who's Almost 2 Months!

That hair, hysterical!



 That sweet chubby body, snugly and squeezable.



My granddaughter is completely kissable.


She is truly a dark-haired, brown-eyed beauty!

At two months, she is a happy baby and knows what she wants, already. She likes to be held. Even when she sleeps, she opens her left eye slightly to ensure she is being snuggled and hasn't been left to lay by herself. As an added security, when she sleeps in my arms she will reach her little arm up and keep her hand on my face to make sure I am there.

Command attention my beautiful granddaughter. It is in your DNA.



Homecoming

Homecomings change through the years. The first year is a lot of pressure of the unexpected, so you over prepare.

Homecoming is the first dance in a high school season and for a girl, her first real opportunity to buy a semi-formal or formal dress; although, I've always been and my girls are Homecoming is semi-formal.

Dress shopping, shoe shopping, accessories shopping, hair style, nails and make-up. Cha-ching!

Add years and experience and after four years, Homecoming transitions into an evening out.

Last night was Brooke's last Homecoming as a Senior. Several dresses to choose from from her sisters and her own collection, it was a matter of which dress does she want to wear.

Shoes? We already have plenty.

Hair? So many girls go get their hair done professionally which is nice, but the reality is ... they end up with styles their moms like, not necessarily the boys. If they don't like it, your outta luck, there is no turning back once the hair is pinned and sprayed in place and a hefty price is paid.

Brooke and I chose an easy route. We looked at photos of hairstyles she liked and we practiced for 10 minutes the day before. Once we got the look she liked, it was an easy plan before the dance.

She does her make-up best, I did her hair and she slipped into a fun little dress.






She is beautiful! 

Brooke and Alex have been dating 3-1/2 years and through their immature relationship, they've learned to grow up together. I believe these two are going to make it, they genuinely love each other.

Brooke knows how to stretch a day. Alex asked her where she'd like to go for dinner and she said she'd prefer breakfast. Truth is, she has been talking about wanting a Taco Bell breakfast, which are her favorite, but will turn your stomach and clog your arteries.

Up and ready, she got her breakfast, most of the day, and she got dinner with him.  

A couple hours at the dance was enough and they were home by 9:30 p.m. 

She was seen, they danced, and they are comfortable enough together that that was enough for the evening. Come home, get in comfy clothes and Netflix.

They have found their groove. 







Monday, October 2, 2017

A Last Halloween Costume

In one month ...
Brooke turns 18

Brooke loves dressing up and Halloween is a favorite holiday to her next to Christmas. We went out to purchase her Halloween costume and I told her she has to buy this one, because I bought her a costume in the spring for a school project she had. She argued that was last year (last school year), I argued it was still in 2017.

She picked out a super cute costume that cost only $20, when she usually runs me over $50 every Halloween. I said I'd gladly pay the $20 for the last-Halloween-costume-I-ever-have-to-buy.

The milestones continue to get checked off the list!

Seven months until graduation.

A Grain, Seed or Nut?

Quinoa is a super food that quite honestly confuses me. You cook quinoa like a grain, botanically speaking it is a seed, but tastes like a nut.

I am in a very grainy-texture season in life.

I'm addicted to the taste and texture of steel cut oats with ground walnuts added and quinoa. It's the texture and health benefits of quinoa that has inspired new favorite recipes:

 - Vanilla yogurt, quinoa mixed with cinnamon, banana slices and peanut butter melted and drizzled on top. Sometimes I add honey.

  - Every morning I look forward to my chocolate protein shake in the blender with ice. Ahhhh, add a 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa and now my chocolate protein shake has a nutty flavor with texture and 6 additional grams of protein.

Did I mention Aldi's has their autumn season Maple Leaf Cream cookies and their Spiced Apple Cider packets available? I love autumn.

I happen to know where the BEST maple ice cream in town is located, too!

Yes, it's lunchtime and today I have a three hour split during lunch. The sun is shining, the weather warm and I have accomplished a ton.

Be careful with those yummy Maple Leaf Cream cookies though, they are 110 calories each!


Sunday, October 1, 2017

Only God

It's been a rough year that has transitioned from broken pieces to pieces of a puzzle.

E v e r y t h i n g was broken for most of 2017 and I believe you learn the most about yourself when you go through a storm far more than when life is blessed. Your true character and integrity is ultimately revealed. 

How do you respond when life falls apart? It matters. 

Looking back, I can see how all of the broken pieces are pieces to a puzzle. How each one of them had to happen and how they have me where I am today. 

There are absolutely blessings in storms. 

A most perfect storm that was intended to be catastrophic, wasn't. There are many things that I was ready to do that quite honestly, God did not let happen. It's a take you to the end of yourself and God says, "No, you may not destroy her." 

Everything intact.

Needed rest. 

Time off work, then a four day work week that I've always wanted to have. Time. 

Time to heal.

    Time refresh.

        Time for outdoors.

            Time for summer. 

                Time to learn new things.

                    Time for my daughters.
     
                         Time for my granddaughter.

I can see from this side, the broken pieces that had to happen for me to be where I am today.

I'm not sure if I heard something or read something, but it was, "What if God called you away, would you go?" 

Talk about life interruption. We know the story of Jonah, living a good life and God called him to go to Nineveh. Good grief, what if God called you to go to North Korea? Jonah ran and we are all like, you cannot run from God! Duh

But, what if ... God called you away to something different? Would you go? 

I answered an honest in my mind, "Yes." 

Don't you know, it wasn't two days later I got a call.

Really?!

God, out of A L L my prayers, that's the one You heard?

Broken pieces turned to pieces of a puzzle and an unexpected life shift. 

Broken pieces to blessings. 

Only God.