Spring Fever

The weather here in Virginia Beach is very unpredictable. One minute you have an ice storm that shuts the city down and then this week it's in the 70's and beautiful! This time of the year I get a little antsy. I am ready for spring and the warm weather. In Eccelesiates, God talks about there being a time for everything. So right now, I am living in the moments that God gives me because before long, it will be gone. I have some good friends at work that are moving on in their own lives and my life is changing, i don't like goodbyes.I know that I am going to have to say goodbye to them really soon and I don't want to. I want to savor every laugh, every smile, every memory because it will be gone soon. So right now in the midst of my antsyness, God is saying slow down and relax in the season that He gives.

No more pretending

I love pretending. I work with preschool kids and we have fun pretending to be a chef at a resturant or a builder with the blocks. I can't believe what kids come up with to pretend to be! I was listening at a song in my car one afternoon this week taking about becoming closer to God but on your way to getting closer with him, stop pretending to be a Christian, to talk like a Christian, to act like a Christian. The more I thought about the words and the message of this song, the more I realized God was downloading something in my spirit. Just like the kids I interact with everyday, who pretend because that's the way they learn I play pretend with God alot. I raise my hands in worship, sometimes I say all the right things. I pretend to have it all together in front of Him but hello! He knows me. I want be raw and real before God because He is to me. And the amazing thing about God is HIS GRACE! No matter what I do, His grace looks into my eyes and says I still love you no matter what, let me pick you up and experience me, drink from me! So I am challenging myself, NO more pretending, why would I need to?

In a rut routine

Today God popped something in my lap that I had not even considered until I began to let it sit in me for awhile. God reminded me of Lazaurus in the bible. He was very close to Jesus and he died, Lazaurus sister was questioning why jesus didn't come sooner to heal him. The only time in scripture that jesus cries is when Lazaurus dies. It is puzzling to me why this time, why this man. He must have been important to jesus. The part the God was telling me was leaving dead things behind but to rise up in what I want for you. After lazauras had been dead for a couple of days then Jesus raises him up. Imagine how that must have been for Lazaurus. It makes you think was Lazaurus differnt physically after that. of course mentally and emotionally he was different. I like to think that dead things stayed with the tomb Lazuarus came out of and a whole new perspective and change came when Jesus called him out by name. Even in the rut routine I find myself spinning in some days, I can hear God calling my name, "Come out, Come out!" Let those dead things in your life stay dead, let God call you out that thing that feels like it's hanging on for dear life. Let Him call you to new life.

What about unity?

As far back as I can remember the Olympic games were the highlight in my house. My family would all gather around and watch different nations come together. I remember when I became interested in becoming a writer, I saved every news clipping on certain athlete's I liked and I would track them the entire length of the games. The Olympics always meant something special to me, like someone's dream was being accomplished. People were doing what they loved to do. I was reminded this year as the games began to never let anyone take that childlike innocence away from you. The Olympics was never about politics, or sensationalism. They were never about trying to find the worst in someone or even living in terror that someone was going to attack the arena's. It was about coming together. It was about unity and respecting everyone talents and cheering each other on. It was about seeing every nation as special and valued. As for me, I am going to enjoy every minute of the Olympics because I know what it truly stands for, unity.

Some things are just worth fighting for...

As I have been going through physical therapy, I have noticed alot more that I have to fight to stay well. If I don't do the home exercises that have to been done on the days that I am not at physical therapy that could hinder the process. There are many processes in my life right now that are worth my fight. Continually renewing my marriage, my relationships with others, my health, my relationship with my Heavenly Father. You have to work at those things on a daily basis or just like my knee it will become stiff and hinder the process of healing. My relationships will become stiff and hard to manage if I don't become attentive to them. Relationships are work but I believe that it is worth fighting for. Don't give up or lose courage to stand up for what you believe in. As Mother Teresa once said, "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

Summer

There is something about summer that I can never put my finger on but it feels different. It's not rushed but relaxed. It's all about friends, family, and BBQ's. Since having knee surgery, I have been learning to walk properly agian. Something about this summer has reacquainted me with an amazing God. Having been forced to lie on the couch for some weeks of the summer and spend countless hours in physical therapy, God and I have been having a little chat. It's funny how I see things and how God sees them. I have seen this whole knee situation as a hold up but in God's eyes, He sees the BIG picture. I have been allowed so much time to rest and heal my body but also my soul. I think tonight I am going to sit outside, look up at the sky, and just listen.