School Project— Creative French Mischief

“Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.” – Pablo Picasso

I reflect back to a moment when my daughter was 12 years old, and she was in the unenviable position of being the sole participant in what was to be a “group” project for her French class. They were to write a short skit in French, for the team members to read aloud in class. Her team consisted of only three kids, including herself. She was especially frustrated with the boy on her team because he made it very clear that he did not want to contribute. The other girl was willing, though not very familiar with the language. My daughter has a good ear for language, so she took it upon herself to take charge.

“I have so much to do by tomorrow. And all Herberto said was, “No” to everything I asked him to do. That’s not fair!”

She needed a few moments to catch her breath, then a mischievous smile formed as quickly as her solution took shape.

God's Faithfulness Endures

“My faith is in Jesus, the son of God, the savior of the world. My faith isn’t even in my ability to believe in Jesus, because sometimes I won’t be able to perceive him. Sometimes I won't be able to feel him. Sometimes I will have doubts. But my faith isn’t in any of that. My faith is in his faithfulness.”— Steven Furtick (Pastor of Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC)

While reading “Sun Stand Still,” by Steven Furtick, the words in the quote above grabbed my attention. In particular, the words, “his faithfulness.” Usually when I consider faith, it’s in the context of “my faith.”  Which of course ebbs and flows on any given day. I have heard and read about “his faithfulness,” yet it wasn’t until today, reading Furtick’s words, that the concept shook me awake to pay attention.

Sometimes words can be like wallpaper; you may enter the room and not notice its color or pattern. After all, it is in the background. Then one day, you enter the same room with seeking eyes, and the room now appears brightly lit. The former ignored things, come into illumination, as you discover the rich texture and beauty that was always there.

Such for me are the words, “his faithfulness.”

Divine Appointments— How God Reveals His Love for Us

“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness. “— Mother Teresa

How often in our doubtful minds we question how God can use us for His purpose when we may not feel strong enough, or faithful enough.

What is His purpose? If he’s God surely His purpose is magnanimous. Maybe we don’t feel we are strong enough for magnanimous duties? Maybe we do not feel good enough, or spiritually developed enough to be used for His plan?

But he uses every one of us, every day. He uses us exactly where we are. We do not have to be monks or people who spend most of our day on our knees.  In fact, I believe you may actually question God’s existence, and He will still use you for the good of humanity.

Each of us has unique qualities and life circumstances that can be God’s portal to delivering reassurance, hope, peace, and love to others.

Say

It was some time ago when I saw the movie “The Bucket List.” I recently heard the movie’s theme song, “Say,” written and sung by John Mayer. I listened closely again to the lyrics, as few of them as they are, and find their simplicity compelling.

You can heal a lifetime of pain and regret, by one word, “say.” How many of us have something we have left unsaid? I’m not talking about the ”I ought to give you a piece of my mind!”  kind of  “say.” I am, however, referring to the words we will regret not saying if the person passes away with us never having expressed our feelings. Second chances are guaranteed to no one.

What keeps us from saying them?

The Misconception of Perfection in Love Relationships

“It’s not so terrible. Rather than dwell on problems why not look for life’s gifts? Every day is a present. Beautiful!”— Alice Herz-Sommer (108 yrs old- World’s oldest Holocaust Survivor)

The unexpected arrival of someone into my life is an opportunity to see God’s blessings, and simultaneously triggers all my inner demons and work still left undone. There’s never such a thing as “no fear,” even when I feel the gift has been delivered into my arms directly from God. The human fallible me, intercedes and interrupts the miracle. There’s a myriad of fears which creep in, little by little, trying to undermine the gift.

When his human flaws began to introduce themselves to me, like an onion exposing its layers, I could feel my resistance grow, as fear dug its heels in. This is always a very difficult period to navigate in a relationship: the flaw discovery phase. Not until you reach this place are you able to really begin the relationship part of the dating experience.

Easter— A Reflection Of God’s Love and Mercy For Us

Christ is full of infinite mercy. His ways are of love. But for love to be real and truly a verb, it is demonstrated in His mercy. On the cross, at death’s doorstep, He forgave. He forgave His persecutors and executioners. He forgave His disciples, for failing him multiple times. He even seeks them out after his resurrection. He didn’t say, “Forget you, you losers! You betrayed me, denied me, and now I turn away from you….” He would have been justified; they disappeared, retreated, cowered in fear.

As Easter approaches I am reminded that the ultimate testament to the power of Christ is in His resurrection. He foretold of His death and resurrection. Many relegate Christ to be “just another Prophet.” It’s easier to deal with Him in these terms. The ego doesn’t want to have to deal with a resurrection. That’s harder to understand. It requires us to surrender the need to conquer and control. The things we cannot wrap our pea brains around, are relegated to fiction. Only things we can categorize and define, place us in the familiar territory of being in control, and feeling powerful. This we are  “comfortable” with.  Anything other than what we ourselves are, is inconceivable. It requires us to take the leap of faith to invite the possibility that something exists that is far beyond our total comprehension.

Parent Weariness— Teen now 18

“I have many times been driven to my knees by the utter conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” ~Abraham Lincoln

I have not blogged consistently for the past few months. To say my current reality during this timeframe has been rather chaotic and stressful, may be understating it a wee bit. You see, my 17 year old turned 18 late last year, and my world has been in utter chaos surrounding this milestone.

Everyone knows that raising teens is not easy.  Having already weathered many teen storms, I thought that as she approached 18, the worse was behind me. I really began to enjoy her at 17.  It seemed that her teen revolts were fewer and I saw maturity begin to set in. I thought she was finally “getting it,” understanding many things regarding life and our relationship seemed strong.

The past six months have been a struggle as I try to maneuver through the depths of this chaotic teen journey into adulthood. Not only is this a difficult period for her, but as her mother, I am catapulted into a transition I thought would be just that, “a transition.” Silly me, I thought a transition meant that there’s time to adjust. Believe me, there has been no easing into this life’s episode! It has been a catapult into enemy territory; only come to find out, I’m the enemy.