A slightly tongue in cheek Mothers Day rant.....

I hate Mothers Day! 
Its a special day to remind all of us less than perfect moms that we are less than perfect.  I mean really.....
Let's face it, I'm just not the mom that greeted her kids with milk and cookies after school.  I'm not the mom who whipped up tasty treats from the kitchen for her family - no, not me.  I actually HATE being in the kitchen!  I'd much rather be out in the barn cleaning out the horses  LOL.
I'm the mom who said to the kid  who fell down - Suck it up princess
I'm the mom with the wooden spoon in her purse
I'm the mom who missed most, if not all, of their school events
I'm the mom who was away from home  6am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Crafts with the kids? no
Gardening with the kids? no
Understanding, sympathetic - no
Soft and cuddly - no

A great line from the movie "Michael" - I'm not that kind of angel.  Well, I'm not that kind of mom.
Its just the way the is.....  I'm done apologizing for it, feeling bad about it, feeling less than perfect, feeling like a failure.
Sorry kids - but this is the mom you got.....  June Cleaver I ain't.....

So, the noble woman of Proverbs 31 - not me.  Mother's day messages make me cringe.
 And while I'm on the subject - why is it that in churches men give the Mother's Day message.?  Just for once I would love to hear some real moms give the message.

And that's my Mothers Day rant for this year!  Happy less than perfect Mother's day!  LOL

passive to passionate to participation

That was the big question. How do we move beyond being passive about our life to being passionate about it?  And even beyond that, how do we then participate in the life God has called us to live.  There is no doubt that Christ calls us to be passionate and not passive (lukewarm), but there is so much more to it.  We need to use that passion, and participate in life - participate in what God is doing.
If we are to be honest with ourselves and God, we all have reasons (excuses) for staying stuck in passiveness.
To move from passive to passionate to participation involves change, it involves risk.  We don't like change, we don't like risk.  We like to know exactly what's going to happen, when its going to  happen and how its going to happen.  The unknown is scary.  Not being in control is scary. 
Sometimes its our own insecurities.  We don't feel adequate.  Someone else can do it better than us. We don't have the ability.  Its out of our comfort zone. What if we fail?
We don't totally trust God to walk along side us if we take a risk. We haven't learned yet to trust Him completely.  We haven't learned to turn the controls over to Him.
Great excuses, in our own minds!  But I don't think God buys them. Have you ever tried to argue with God about why you can't do something?  It doesn't work, He always wins! But being a gentleman, He gives us the choice whether to move forward or not. I have found that peace comes with the right choice - LOL.
 Life is too wonderful to take a passive role.  God has amazing opportunities and experiences for each of us.  The choice is ours whether we wish to take part.
When was the last time you took a step from passive to passionate?  When was the last time you were truly passionate about something?  On fire?  And what did you do about it?  Did you participate? Did you step out  and take the risk? 
Isn't this the kind of life in Christ we should be living?  Passionate, participating, Spirit lead.
What is holding you back from making the move?  Ask God to ignite the passion in you, and then ask Him to show you where you can participate with that passion.

You're fishing on the wrong side!

My brain is filled with jumbled up thoughts this week.  I don't do well with jumbled!  I'm an organizer by nature LOL
One of my devotions this week was on the passage where Simon and his fishermen friends go out to fish. Now, these are professional fishermen so one would assume they knew how and where to fish. They had done this countless times, this is how they made their living.  But this time, this time there was no fish and they had been at it all night.  Then along comes Jesus, who says to them "throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."  Now I can just imagine the conversation in the boat - who does that guy think he is?  isn't he a carpenter? what does he know about fishing? this how we always fish, its worked before.  why should we listen to him?  And, maybe Jesus repeated the same thing over and over till they finally said - fine, we'll do it your way.  Surprize surprize - FISH and lots of them!
So what does this have to do with us?  Well, quite simply, maybe we need to change how we are doing things, or change the direction we are going. Just because we have always done things a certain way (with some success) does not mean it will work forever.  Sometimes its time to stop - Hey, this doesn't work anymore.  And while we are wrestling with frustration, Jesus is repeating over and over - throw your nets on the other side of the boat!! trust me, it will work.
For me personally, God has challenged me to 'fish the other side' - which is taking me into an area I never expected to find myself.  Challenging, exciting, fear and trepidation - all good things.
How is your fishing today?  Need to maybe fish the other side?

"I did it my way"

So, last week as a glanced through the obits - yes, I confess, I do check them from time to time.  Maybe it has something to do with having more years behind and less ahead  LOL
Anyway, I was reading one and it said "John lived his life John's way".  That line struck me hard. I had two immediate thoughts - the first was 'how sad'.  The second was - 'I hope they don't say that about me.' ( Now I have no idea who this person was, or if he lived a good life.  I am just journalling my thoughts about what I read. It is not a judgement on John at all.)
That little line caused me a great deal of reflection for days. I think it made me sad because if I read it with my name in there it would mean that I lived my life on my own terms, my way, doing my own thing - kind of seemed empty to me, and self-centered.
And, it made me think about what someone would write on my obit, or my gravestone. 
Would it say:  Susan lived her life Susan's way or Susan lived her life Christ's way.  I want it to say the latter, and I hope it would.  But I have to ask myself, does the way I live my life give people enough evidence to prove that? Sadly, not always.
When I lived in the corporate world we learned a time management system and one of the points was "Begin with the end in mind".  They asked us to write our own grave stone, the idea being that we need to live our lives to make that statement true.
What would I want on my gravestone?  What would I want people to say at my funeral?
What I would want, is for people to say I lived my life Christ's way, that I was a Jesus follower, a reflection of Him, that it was all about Jesus and not about me.
Heavy thoughts to ponder..... 
What about you?  What would you want on your gravestone?

the Pura Vida Journey

Each month I meet with a group of ladies on a Saturday morning.  We are on a journey to discover what Jesus meant when He said  "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full".   In Spanish, Pura Vida means Pure Life.  We have reasoned that Jesus wants us to live Pura Vida, an abundant, full life in Him.
Sadly, most of us live in a place far removed from what Jesus intended for us.  And even more sad is the fact that many of us have just accepted that this is all there is - it doesn't get any better, it doesn't get any worse.  We have 'settled' for something far, far below the abundant life that is offered to us.   How this must sadden God's heart - seeing His children not live up to their full potential, settling for a mediocre existence. He offers us a life that is so much more than we can imagine and what do we say? " No thanks, (yawn), this is good enough."
The group of ladies I hang with are not content to live in that place anymore. Its  easy to get caught up in the daily routine of life but we know there is more to life than just that.   So we are on a journey of discovery together, a journey to discover what Jesus meant by full, abundant life - its the Pura Vida Journey!  We are excited, and maybe a bit apprehensive! We are fairly sure God will challenge us and push us out of our comfort zones.  We are up for the challenge, LOL.  

please release me.....

I heard an interesting comment yesterday morning.  Apparently someone made the observation that the 'church' is not operating with the power of Christ.  Really?  What gave it away?  While this is a general statement,  I believe it is a true statement.  But why is that?  Why isn't the 'church' tapping into the power of Christ? Why is the 'church' running on no or low power?
I'm wondering if part of the problem is that the 'church' has become an organization so wound up in bureaucracy and red tape that it can't move with the Spirit of God.  Too many committees, too many boards.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not against committees (well, maybe just a bit LOL.)  Teams play an important role in getting things done, if they do not get bogged down in red tape and if they allow for the Spirit of God to move.  And guess what?  Sometimes the Spirit works quickly and spontaniously!  And if the Spirit moves, so should we.
And I'm wondering if we, as individuals, are wound up so tightly we can't move.  I keep getting a visual in my head of stick people, with tape wrapped around and around them making it impossible to move - arms can't move, legs can't walk, movement is limited. Sadly, I think this is where most of us live our lives, and because we don't know any different we accept it.  We just think this is how we are suppose to live.
How it must grieve God to see His people all bound up, waddling around with limited mobility.
I  have another visual though.  I see God, with a large pair of scizzors, cutting the tape and setting us free! Setting not only us free but the 'church' free.   Can you imagine that with me?  Its kind of like a cotton ball wound up so tight it becomes a tiny, skinny piece of nothing but it bursts out once the tape is cut off.
Can you imagine if we were to burst out with the power of Christ?  Can you imagine if the 'church' were to burst out in the power of Christ?  Can you imagine how God could use us?
I want the tape cut off me. I want to be released from everything that is keeping me bound up.  I want to live in the power of Christ. I want to follow the Spirit's leading.

get out of the pews, people!

Ugh, I really dislike living in a state of blah.  You know what I mean - the same old, same old.  I am fairly sure that this is not how God meant for us to live.  Yet, we continue to become comfortable in our daily lives, even complacent.  We lock ourselves in the 'christian bubble' and become oblivious to what is really going outside.  We are comfortable with the status quo of 'church life'.  We surround ourselves with like minded people.  Comfortable, complacent, sheltered, bored, blah.
Jesus lived and served outside the walls of the church.  He was found walking the countryside, in fish boats, having meals with tax collectors, preaching from hillsides, ministering to prostitutes, challenging the Pharisees.   He met people where they lived - His life was not comfortable, not complacent, not sheltered, not boring, not BLAH.
As a Jesus follower, this is how He wants me to live.  I can hear Him saying to me  "Get out of the pew and get into the real world. Find out what the needs really are instead of deciding ahead of time what you think they are.  You want to make a difference? Follow Me.  Expect to be uncomfortable, expect to be challenged, expect to get dirty, expect the unexpected and expect to live a radical abundant life. Forget the BLAH.  I promise you, it will be anything but."
Who's ready to get out of the pew with me????