the tongue...

now some may take note of the title of this particular blog and wonder, "what in heaven's name is she writing about..."... ahem! i am writing about the beauty of our little dog, "sweet-pea" this fuzzy puppy (seriously, she is SO soft) has stolen our hearts (to the point of ridiculous obsession and even MORE ridiculous tolerance of her quirkiness, can you say, "lack of sleep"??) but what i find even more intriguing in our adoption of "her highness", is that she has actually changed us with this odd little tongue that never goes inside her mouth (no exaggeration here...)....she is a constant source of entertainment, she is a master manipulator of her cuteness factor, and yet the unconditional love exhibited by a 10 pound, hanging tongue, 3 toothed hound is a bit overwhelming...

the recent lessons we have learned from this little warm body have been many and irrefutable:

1. cute can take you very far in this world, especially if you're cute AND funny looking...

2. looking at someone as if they are the only one in the world that they love and depend on can probably turn the hardest of hearts to soft-serve ice cream...

3. when you put #1 & #2 together? it is amazing how tolerant of 1 a.m. romps and pouncing on your face your "people" will endure just to be able to enjoy some chuckles even at the expense of some sleep (although it does catch-up occasionally)

4. it is mind boggling that this bundle of warmth seems to realize which one of her people she will wake up...she literally takes turns with the two of us...i find this truly wondrous, perceptive and a little bit mysterious as well...

5. surprise quirks springing up on us are an endless source of entertainment; the way that she loves to be blow-dried after her bath, that the sound of velcro ripping (this is her leash/halter) will send her into a frenzy to go out, a ride in the car is the BEST thing ever, and certain bodily function sounds (insert noise here), will send her running from a room and looking over her shoulder at her "person" with great disdain and superiority...( sorry, but this one really cracked us up and HAD to be shared...)

6. last and definitely not least, it is an utter impossibility to not laugh, giggle, grin, smirk, snort or any other form of mirth to emerge from our lips when we look at this dog with the perpetual tongue...it's just that much of a quirk to draw you into the rest of the little package, and you just keep on smiling....

waiting room...again:)

a long time ago i came up with a visual regarding that dreaded four-letter word "wait"...i had been told, (or maybe i daydreamed it during a sermon??) that God has 3 answers to prayer..."yes, no and WAIT"... notice that the word "yes" has 3 letters, the word "no" has only two (although those two little tiny letters can pack a powerful smack on the chin when you feel God's impact of uttering them...) and then there is the dire whisper of the word "wait"... it's usually pretty distinctive because it resembles a verbal strait-jacket... no matter how you try to wiggle your way around it? if God really wants you in the "waiting room" He reeeeeeaaaalllllllyy wants you in the waiting room:)....

i find it interesting that we can choose to attempt to be uncomfortable in our strait-jacket waiting room (and this probably is coughing up an image of a psychiatric ward)...or we can trust God, not resist this time of waiting and look around at the pictures on the walls, the other patients, and in particular the magazines displayed on the coffee table in front of you... what do you see? can you learn something from these surroundings? for me, i've recently been fighting and wiggling in my job strait-jacket...i'm doing something i enjoy, but yet i'm not comfortable and feel like i need to pursue something different...but at this moment in time, i simply cannot be looking for another job or even a change of assignment within the constraints of my current employment...i am completely aware that God, the great Physician in every respect, is having me wait in this room so i can learn...learn from others that are in the same room? learn from the pictures on the walls? learn from the various magazines that are all there for a reason, either to distract me or to teach me a lesson...and that is completely up to me... how i wait, whether it be with struggle or with grace, this is all part of His answer, it's all part of the process...just like waiting for a doctors appointment, you eventually get there...but sometimes it takes longer than others to hear what the doctor has to say AND when the doctor finally does see you and give his prescription? it's up to the individual to listen and follow His advice...

prayer fingerprint...

recently our pastor began a new series very aptly entitled "prayer"...he joked about his creative genius in coming up with the title, yes amusing in it's simplicity, but dead on regarding a integral component of any relationship...communication...and who could possibly be more important to communicate with in an authentic manner? but God, our Father, Lord, Savior and Friend...

"what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer"...not just some things, but ...talking to God, what does that look, feel, taste like? how do we as individual's communicate with the very being that created us? very simply...we communicate with Him in the manner in which we feel the most comfortable, whatever is innate within us...this will be very individual...we may be face-down, prone and vulnerable... we may be on our knees, hands folded head bowed in humility...we may be standing with arms open wide and uplifted toward the heavens that He created...we may even dance openly in His presence as physically we express grief, love and joy...all these and more are ways to share with our Lord, to exchange thoughts, ideas, dreams, hopes, and concerns... no one way is right, no one way is wrong... it is as unique as a snowflake, as individual as our DNA, it is our "prayer fingerprint", our direct line to God, our spiritual tether, connecting us to our Creator God...when we discover this fingerprint, when we feel that direct-line of conversation? we need to hone, practice and celebrate!...

i've got the joy, joy, joy, joy...:)

welllll, i have discovered the beauty of maintaining my "joy" as opposed to thinking that fleeting happiness IS my joy... i greatly appreciate the peace of mind that living a life that is being straight with God and laying it all out to Him is rather freeing... this, of course, is a daily maintenance plan, and i must admit some days are much more successful than others as a carry on my conversations with God... but for the most part? even days like today, where you feel kind of sad or things didn't exactly go the way you wanted them to at work (we love extenuating circumstances, don't we??) or maybe you just feel like there's a lot on your brain, but then there's "joy"... plain and simple... "joy"... my joy is not contingent on things, people, places, circumstances, my joy is in the Lord and i'm very grateful that He is always with me and opens my eyes to Him when i need a reminder that HE is my joy... the end:)

the REAL world...

for the past month i have been in a magical vacation bubble...get up when i want...play all day...do the daily chores when i want (IF i want)...everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the vacation bubble...you don't need to go away to do it, you don't even have to spend money to do it, just change your routine and get refreshed... take off your watch and see how it really doesn't matter what time you do anything, time continues to tick away just fine without constantly looking at the clock... this also serves to make you appreciate when you finally do slap that wristwatch back on, because you are actually ready to have a schedule again...

one of the most memorized and beloved bible passages is the 23rd psalm and it talks about rest...

^1-3 God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

being tired, rundown, overwhelmed by life and problems or challenges basically creates a spiritual mononucleosis, we're exhausted and ineffective and can barely put one foot in front of the other...yes, God uses our weakness? but He wants us to be strong through Him, the only way we can do that is to be refreshed BY Him, we need rest...yes, it's wonderful if that rest can be literal and if He allows physical and emotional as well as spiritual renewal... but i truly believe that God shows us the most amazing times of rest, regrouping and re-energizing in order for us to enter the "real world" with a heart for Him..."True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction"...doesn't get much better than that:)

x + y = God's will

sooooo surprise, surprise, anyone that knows me would think i am comPLETEly crazy by starting a blog with an equation...but i find it very interesting that God could show me through one of my weaknesses (can you say numbers??...math...analytical thinking??) a little bit of a lightbulb insight into what He has for us...this morning, in particular, the logic of God and His Will struck me over the head in the form of an EQUATION, for heaven's sake, as i was talking to a dear friend at breakfast...

the question is posed: "if we feel that God has directed us in one direction, is it "wrong" to go another direction??"...my reply is this: if we genuinely are asking God for direction and there is another path that we can take, is it wrong to take the other path? personally i don't think it can really be "wrong"... our template, our measuring stick, our guide, is always and ultimately, as a Christian, a follower of Christ, how am i representing Him? God does guide us, but He allows us to make our own decisions, this is our free will... and if we are seeking God's will, our free will is in alignment with God...

now for the equation...the equation x + y = God's will, is made up of 2 variables...these are question marks and can be filled in accordingly...but those of us who know Jesus are already one of the variables, He is the example, the "x-factor"... the other variable is our free will, this is the "y-factor" and it stands for you... it's what we DO with our Jesus variable, the action, the verb...put them together and we have God's will for us...

Colossians 1:9-12 (The Message)

^9-12Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

His word is so beautifully expressed:) but all of us struggle within ourselves asking for a clear, audible voice or vision, we just need to remember our variables...He is our example...follow Him...and do the math;)

X (Jesus IN you) + Y (you/your actions) = God's will

butterflies diffusing bombs...

i find it interesting recently all the changes that have occurred...

#1. our 15 year old deaf/blind/arthritic but fairly pain-free dog, mr. ed was put to sleep R.I.P.

#2. the 12 year old autistic young man i've been working with for the past 7 months may end up with another caretaker...you never know, but i had to say good-bye to him for the summer and initiate another interventionist for his program and care.

#3. i received a phone call today from my supervisor at 24 hour fitness (whom i've never met) who very nicely (seriously, no sarcasm intended here...) informed me that next monday will be my last step class at the westminster gym, they're changing the format...i have been teaching this class for over 2 years...

in each of these situations i have found that you could be a stinker and make life miserable for the people around you OR you could be silent, gentle or kind with your words and attitude... i might highlight the concept of attitude... it speaks VOLUMES... whoever coined the phrase " actions speak louder than words?" must have been very aware of "eye-rollage";)...the most subtle negative gesture can shout at another individual and negate any semblance of positive impact on the words that may be uttered from your lips...

this past sunday listening to pastor bill's message was regarding how we use our words, how we share with the world around us... are we using our words as a positive currency to negotiate through our daily environment? or would the people that surround us, that we touch, would they ask for their money back?...

proverbs 15:1 says "a gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger"... the gentle answers, the appropriate words we can use? they are just like butterflies...lightly flitting through our lives, their beauty is subtly noticed and makes an impression... harsh words and inappropriate actions are just like bombs or land mines that can destroy a spirit in an instant... i find it intriguing that when you think about someone diffusing a bomb, one of the most important aspects is a gentle, confident touch... just like a butterfly... so this is where i come to my title wrap up... let our words, our actions, our most minute connection with another, be as a butterfly, and allow THAT to be greatest percentage of our testimony...

let the butterflies diffuse the bombs:)