Stories from Rainbow Village

There is this retirement community a couple of blocks away from me. Once or twice a week we go visit the people who live there, but especially one Sweety we call Miss May. She's a gem! 

Today we went to spend a little time with her and our conversation took a very philosophical turn. She was telling me of her childhood; growing up on a 365 acre farm with 11 kiddos, with no hot water or electricity. She spoke of her mother's incredible patience with her and her siblings, of her modest, yet very happy childhood, and the work she did day in and out... 

I was so inspired by her humble background and her genuine contentment with her life! Before I considered it, I asked, "If there were one thing you could tell the world, one message you've learned in life, what would you say?" 

She didn't hesitate! She answered, "To be kind. Especially to those who treat you badly. Answer evil with good." I smiled. What a great answer that was! Then she continued, "but also, when someone brings a fight to you, just set it aside. You don't have to fight back." Wow. Just wow. 

-I hope to learn to live this way. I want to be kind and to have the self control to walk away from a battle that isn't mine to fight... Picking my battles doesn't come naturally. 

Labels...

I shared a video today about labels. It's on my Did You Catch That? page on fb if you'd like to check it out...

It all started this morning when I couldn't get the phrase "I Am That I Am" out of my head... It's from exodus 3:14, where Moses is talking to God and this is how God refers to himself. I loved it! 

I'm having an ongoing revelation as to what it means, but this morning it really spoke of Labels. We Label everyone, including ourselves. 

I'm asked what I do for a living, I reply, "I'm a stay at home mom," which doesn't even begin to cover all I do, but it's the label I've embraced as a big part of who I am... In reality, I'm so much more! 

I love that when God was asked who he was, he answered that he just IS. "I AM," he says. Perhaps I should stop limiting myself and others by trying to fit us all into little labeled boxes, and instead emphasize the beautiful complexity that makes up each and every one of us! 

God cannot be fully understood this side of heaven, and I believe the same goes for us. He sees the You you may never see yourself, until he shows you in the "replay" when you go home for good. 

At some point in your life, someone may have called you a Failure. God says you are an Overcomer! The world may have called you Stupid. God says you are a Unique Genius! People may say you're a Sinner. Jesus says, "No more! I've Redeemed You!" 

-if you must call yourself something, make it something Good! 

Sexual Affiliation and Child Safety

With all the hype going around about the "sexual affiliation" bathroom issue, I just want to say to all my fellow Christians, don't bite the baited hook... You don't have to argue about matters you have no immediate control over. Truly. 

Instead, let us find common ground. I believe we can all safely say we want children to be safe, and that seems to be the main argument I've heard presented, so lets focus on that as a collaborative goal... Instead of bickering about the decisions corporations are making regarding the new law, let us all make a pact, say it with me now: "I will do my utmost to ensure any child I encounter is protected, and remains so." 

There. That's better! Now we can all hug and be friends again right?! Don't let the meddling media stir you up so much you forget who your friends are... I love you guys. Let's try to remember we're on the same team here. (Team Jesus in case you forgot) Just because some of us disagree about things like this or have a different perspective, that's no reason to sever ties. 

We can all agree that children need and should be protected by any means, always have and always will, so let's do that. No matter the law. No matter the circumstances. 

Whew! Glad we found something to agree about! 

-may we remain "one body", alive and functional... 

Thoughts on intelligence

There is a fine line between Genius and mentally handicapped... The determining factor typically being Perspective. 

My greatest joys in life are my babies

In my very biased opinion, children can be the greatest source of joy in life.

Two years ago, we were blessed with a son. I thought then that my heart couldn't be fuller. When we realized baby no. 2 was on the way, I didn't think I'd be able to love her as well as I did my sweet boy. Then our princess came along and again my heart was filled like I've never known! 

As I snuggled my daughter to me and gently rocked her to sleep tonight; watching her eyes flutter as she watched me until she couldn't keep them open anymore. My heart swelled and I had a lump in my throat. 

Those little eyes watch my every move. They see me smile, cry and get angry. They see the movies I watch and the food I eat. Her tiny gaze takes in this alien world around her with me as her guide. That's a lot of responsibility! 

Smelling her sweet baby breath as I kissed her and laid her down, I felt tears in my eyes. Right there, already on my knees, as I laid her down, I prayed a tearful prayer over her tiny body. 

I asked God to teach me to set the right examples for her. Help me make the right choices, and to teach her by example how to be a good girl, a loving wife and a great mother. I asked Him to guide her through life as he has me and to help her to be a light in this world, lit by His love! 

I trust the big guy. He's going to take care of our girl. She's going to change the world! 

-Love is the key 

Project: Sanctify the Temple AKA Get Back in Shape

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”

1 Corinthians 6:19

Yeah... About that. My body makes a pretty sorry temple right at the moment. Having birthed my second child less than 5 months ago and having seldom broken a sweat for many months prior to that, "Temple de lanie" is in sore need of some tlc. 

I believe the time has come to cut out the junk food and sweets again, limit my portions and reign in my cravings once more. It's time to make this body look and feel like the temple it's supposed to be! 

It must be said here, I firmly believe that weight is only a number. I have a general goal weight in mind, which I would love to reach, but in reality I only wish to feel healthy again and to respect the body I've been graciously blessed with. 

Strangely, after reading this verse again, I've begun to feel like I've graffitied the walls of this holy temple, for lack of a better description. I plan to fast, pray and plan a strategy to reclaim and restore myself. 

In all reality, I'm a bit of a health nut and it's more than a little disappointing to me that I've allowed myself to sink to this point. No mas! Change is in the wind! I can do this! I'm even taking before pictures soon so I'll have a reference when I share the dramatic results! 

-food is fuel

Lessons learned from jumping the gun...

One day, not long ago, I shared a post on my social media while in a sleep deprived and funky state of mind... The results weren't great. 

I joked about a web site supposedly misquoting 1 Timothy 4:12 as saying “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

A kind friend of mine gently probed to verify facts and I quickly deleted the post in shame... Realizing the quote was correct and I had read the next verse by mistake. 

In hindsight, I wish I had shared the lesson I learned then, instead of deleting the post! It's something I believe many of us could benefit from considering. 

We all make mistakes and the irony of this one wasn't lost on me... I wasn't setting the best example and in fact I only succeeded in showing my infancy in biblical experience. 

The cool thing about this is I learned another valuable lesson here: don't post on social media when you've had less than 4 hours to sleep! 

-laughing at myself sure makes life more bearable!