Friday, September 28, 2012
Did You Know....
Did you know that on the shelf above my desk is a stuffed pig perching on the top of a monkey's head? Well.... it's true.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
On Clean Living
I have a friend that used to always say, "Now that's what I call clean livin'". He always said it after particularly serendipitous moments in life. He was (and likely still is) fantastic at marking moments that otherwise may not stick out for being great.
Tonight I went to a talent show at the high school with my oldest. It was fun. Some of the acts were really good, some were mediocre and one was downright awkward. I wish I had a video of the awkward performance. Unfortunately, as much as I try to teach the child manners, etc., some things are just so ferociously weird that home training loses. This particular performance was one of those moments. Within the first few seconds my child was doubled over silently laughing so hard that her whole seat was moving. Fortunately it was dark so no one saw but me. I spent the whole performance,though, trying to squelch her hysterics so she wouldn't embarrass both of us. The truth too is that trying to calm her down helped squelch the giggles that were threatening to spill out of me too.
As we were leaving, we were laughing about it. It occurred to me that I was hanging out with my high school kid and we're close. She wanted me to go to an event with her at her school. She wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me. She sat with me even though a pile of kids greeted her and offered for her to sit with them.
Now that's what I call clean livin'!
Tonight I went to a talent show at the high school with my oldest. It was fun. Some of the acts were really good, some were mediocre and one was downright awkward. I wish I had a video of the awkward performance. Unfortunately, as much as I try to teach the child manners, etc., some things are just so ferociously weird that home training loses. This particular performance was one of those moments. Within the first few seconds my child was doubled over silently laughing so hard that her whole seat was moving. Fortunately it was dark so no one saw but me. I spent the whole performance,though, trying to squelch her hysterics so she wouldn't embarrass both of us. The truth too is that trying to calm her down helped squelch the giggles that were threatening to spill out of me too.
As we were leaving, we were laughing about it. It occurred to me that I was hanging out with my high school kid and we're close. She wanted me to go to an event with her at her school. She wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me. She sat with me even though a pile of kids greeted her and offered for her to sit with them.
Now that's what I call clean livin'!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
On the Timing of Relationships
I've been thinking recently about the timing of relationships.
When I did a mental survey of my friends and how we got to know one another I was amazed.
Some of my friend relationships were love at first sight. With those people I feel like there was no lead in time. We just seemed to have known each other forever.
Other friends I got to know through another person or through a common event. Those friendships are fun because usually they begin with shared experience and inside jokes.
There is a third group of friends that I find infinitely interesting. These people start as random people that you see here and there and you know their face but you don't know or speak to them. Then one day all of the sudden you find them right square in the middle of your "homies". You find out that they are right interesting and that you like them a lot. I always find myself asking the question "Why did I not know this person before?"
When I look though my Facebook friends there is a very clear stratification of people. Very few of those friends, however, are from the third group. This is what got me thinking about the topic. I was thinking about our individual journeys through life. I'm certain that how we relate to people has everything to do with what's going on in life. I think maybe sometimes we aren't ready for people and they aren't ready for us. I'm guessing that's a rarely counted blessing. I know for certain that there are times in my life where it's best I not be subjected to people at all, especially new ones.
When I did a mental survey of my friends and how we got to know one another I was amazed.
Some of my friend relationships were love at first sight. With those people I feel like there was no lead in time. We just seemed to have known each other forever.
Other friends I got to know through another person or through a common event. Those friendships are fun because usually they begin with shared experience and inside jokes.
There is a third group of friends that I find infinitely interesting. These people start as random people that you see here and there and you know their face but you don't know or speak to them. Then one day all of the sudden you find them right square in the middle of your "homies". You find out that they are right interesting and that you like them a lot. I always find myself asking the question "Why did I not know this person before?"
When I look though my Facebook friends there is a very clear stratification of people. Very few of those friends, however, are from the third group. This is what got me thinking about the topic. I was thinking about our individual journeys through life. I'm certain that how we relate to people has everything to do with what's going on in life. I think maybe sometimes we aren't ready for people and they aren't ready for us. I'm guessing that's a rarely counted blessing. I know for certain that there are times in my life where it's best I not be subjected to people at all, especially new ones.
Friday, September 21, 2012
On Personalities
I wrote once before about a personality test a friend sprung on me because she was trying to figure me out. A lot of people would say to her "May the force be with you!". Anyway... I went back to the website and took the official test. You can take the test here: Shape Psychology
In seems that everything in the last 2 years has changed except my personality. Here's what is has to say about me.
It's remarkably correct.
Hubby Guy has said for years that he plans to "fun me up". It appears his mission is futile. :)
In seems that everything in the last 2 years has changed except my personality. Here's what is has to say about me.
It's remarkably correct.
Hubby Guy has said for years that he plans to "fun me up". It appears his mission is futile. :)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
On Being Just Off Plumb
There's a girl I work with that I TOTALLY want to look like. Am I the only girl who thinks of stuff like that?
I call her look Geek Chic. She's not geeky at all though. She's a really snappy dresser but has a really intelligent air about her. She has really cool glasses and a trendy hair cut. She isn't uppity either. I love that about her. If I looked so put together I might think about being uppity.
In other news, an odd thing happened today.
I was talking to my friend. She's also the big boss but at that moment she was in friend mode. See this to further understand that dynamic. Anyway... she was talking to me and I felt oddly disoriented like I was caught between reality and a parallel dimension. I WAS listening to her, just with subtext on my part. Am I the only person who does that?
I'm starting to wonder if my creativity puts me in that category of people who are just off plumb.
I'm starting to wonder if my creativity puts me in that category of people who are just off plumb.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
On Not Being A Millionaire
As you likely know, I coach a high school gymnastics team. I really do love coaching. I REALLY love gymnastics.
The trouble I'm having is I HATE fundraising. And.... this year the rules changed resulting in the school needing to buy 3 new mats for beam to the tune of $3100. Yikes!!!! Fortunately the school district agreed to pay 1/2. Talk about a buzzkill!
So we've met and have several events in the hopper. It's happening, but it's stressful.
In my utopia money grows on trees. I just keep waking up in reality. I don't really like this reality place. It isn't very convenient.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Yogi to My Boo Boo
Ok... the blog monster has awakened. My brain got all explody about Beth Moore and I wrote it down. Usually when I write one thing I feel inspired to write more things. Let's see how long it lasts this time. :)
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So there's this really cool chic at church who is a yoga instructor on the side. She decided to be a doll and yogafy us church ladies on a weekly basis. The brand of yoga that we do I call "yogurt". I call it that because it goes down easy (unless you're my girl Cathy) and is good for you. My children even ask if I'm going to "yogurt" and if she's gonna kick my hiney. (Because on occasion that happens)
So I named the cool chic Yogi because she's in charge of yogurt, then whilst out in the world doing my thing I learned that practitioners of yoga are called yogis. This completely stole the fun of it from me. I had NO IDEA. I meant like Yogi the cartoon bear! I even named myself Boo Boo to add to the effect.
Anyway, she is teaching us to do basic yoga without all the eastern mysticism. I consider it a very counter-Stephanie activity. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. I do it anyway, though, because it intrigues me. It's the most bizarre activity I've ever participated in.
The fun part of this new activity for me has been trying to figure out how to get my brain to shut up. Part of the process is focusing your brain and relaxing. More often than not I realize while trying to clear my brain that I've watched entirely too many episodes of Looney Tunes. Just last week during the relaxation part I had a conversation between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck playing on a loop in my brain. It's a good thing my Yogi is a cool chic else she might see me grinning while I'm supposed to be relaxing and tell me to take my Looneys and leave. That would be a travesty.
In my past few posts I was talking about living a faithful life. What's cool about Yogi is that she decided to yogafy us church ladies out of her desire to live a faithful life. I think it's cool that living a faithful life looks markedly different for every person. For me it's my "mystery what", for Yogi it's ministering to women using a really unusual tool. I love God for that. I love the diversity that exists across believers.
What is is that God wants YOU to do? What can you do for the kingdom that will require a little supernatural provision?
So there's this really cool chic at church who is a yoga instructor on the side. She decided to be a doll and yogafy us church ladies on a weekly basis. The brand of yoga that we do I call "yogurt". I call it that because it goes down easy (unless you're my girl Cathy) and is good for you. My children even ask if I'm going to "yogurt" and if she's gonna kick my hiney. (Because on occasion that happens)
So I named the cool chic Yogi because she's in charge of yogurt, then whilst out in the world doing my thing I learned that practitioners of yoga are called yogis. This completely stole the fun of it from me. I had NO IDEA. I meant like Yogi the cartoon bear! I even named myself Boo Boo to add to the effect.
Anyway, she is teaching us to do basic yoga without all the eastern mysticism. I consider it a very counter-Stephanie activity. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. I do it anyway, though, because it intrigues me. It's the most bizarre activity I've ever participated in.
The fun part of this new activity for me has been trying to figure out how to get my brain to shut up. Part of the process is focusing your brain and relaxing. More often than not I realize while trying to clear my brain that I've watched entirely too many episodes of Looney Tunes. Just last week during the relaxation part I had a conversation between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck playing on a loop in my brain. It's a good thing my Yogi is a cool chic else she might see me grinning while I'm supposed to be relaxing and tell me to take my Looneys and leave. That would be a travesty.
In my past few posts I was talking about living a faithful life. What's cool about Yogi is that she decided to yogafy us church ladies out of her desire to live a faithful life. I think it's cool that living a faithful life looks markedly different for every person. For me it's my "mystery what", for Yogi it's ministering to women using a really unusual tool. I love God for that. I love the diversity that exists across believers.
What is is that God wants YOU to do? What can you do for the kingdom that will require a little supernatural provision?
On Faith (Part 5)
So what does all this mean? *Heavy Sigh*
Beth made several points about faith. One of those points was: Faith faces the fact that there is no formula. That statement really resonated with me. I'm a creature of habit. Even so, I love the statement that says something like "you can't do the same things the same way and expect different results". I will confess to clinging desperately to a rather formulaic brand of Christianity.
Though I'm not telling you about the "mysterious what", I'll tell you this. I get it. But, what I feel led to do doesn't jive with my formulaic thinking. Thus the need for further conversation with the Lord. The beautiful part, though, is that it addresses long term niggling thoughts that I've had about my life. Yay!
Now I'm officially done writing down all I was thinking. I feel kinda sad about that.
The End
Beth made several points about faith. One of those points was: Faith faces the fact that there is no formula. That statement really resonated with me. I'm a creature of habit. Even so, I love the statement that says something like "you can't do the same things the same way and expect different results". I will confess to clinging desperately to a rather formulaic brand of Christianity.
Though I'm not telling you about the "mysterious what", I'll tell you this. I get it. But, what I feel led to do doesn't jive with my formulaic thinking. Thus the need for further conversation with the Lord. The beautiful part, though, is that it addresses long term niggling thoughts that I've had about my life. Yay!
Now I'm officially done writing down all I was thinking. I feel kinda sad about that.
The End
Monday, September 17, 2012
On Faith (Part 4)
So, armed with my mystery what, I checked back in to Beth's talk. I didn't really check out, but I substituted the word what when she used the word fear to see what else I could learn.
Beth asked this question at some point: "Do you want to live in the supernatural provision of God or in just a humanly explainable life?" I totally got what she was trying to say. When I was living my life of "fullness" it was absolutely comfy, easy and perfectly explainable. To live in the supernatural provision of God is to live beyond myself, to do those things that require actual faith. From my viewpoint of miserable sinner, that supernatural provision stuff is a tall order because it means I have to *big gulp* climb out of my comfort zone. From the mountaintop of the LPL conference that seemed a lot more do-able.
So at small group this week we started a study on Service. Funny how when God is talking to you the same message comes from all directions. This week I've already had to fight whining with God over how completely unprepared I feel for accomplishing my "non-so-mystery-anymore what." I don't know why, like a little brat kid, I always want to scream and holler and kick my feet and fight God when He tells me what He wants me to do. I can say, though, that I am grateful when he coddles me and encourages me and shows me how it can't possibly be as bad as I think it will be.
Those that know me are familiar with "the face" I always seem to have that gives others the impression that I'm mad, sad, homicidal, or something like it. I know this face because I inherited it. It's part of my genetic make-up and nothing can be done about it. I'm also not a giant fan of chatting up people I don't know or big crowds of people. Funny story, a few months back my job on sunday morning became sitting at the WELCOME CENTER, of all places. If you know me, you have my permission to giggle at that notion. Technically my job is checking in children. It just so happens that where I sit says Welcome Center really big over the top of my head. My dear friend pointed out that she considers this activity clearly outside my comfort zone. It occurred to me that she's right. I do it anyway, though, because it needs done and I'm there early anyway because my oldest has youth group before church. So in thinking through this activity it also occurred to me that I'm able to be successful at the job because of supernatural provision. Yay! I'm doing something right. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you have to rush out and do the thing you hate in order to be faithful. I am saying that when we fill ourselves up with faith we are capable of more. And I'm no super Christian so a little supernatural provision must go a long way.
Another question Beth asked was: "Can I recount God's faithfulness to me?" I would say yes. The above example is just one of many, many examples I can think of. When I think, though, of all of the time I've walked with the Lord I'm sad to think that the greater majority of it has been from a very comfy place. That's the pervading point of all of this for me. I would really like to do more great things for God. He has done lots of great things for me.
Beth asked this question at some point: "Do you want to live in the supernatural provision of God or in just a humanly explainable life?" I totally got what she was trying to say. When I was living my life of "fullness" it was absolutely comfy, easy and perfectly explainable. To live in the supernatural provision of God is to live beyond myself, to do those things that require actual faith. From my viewpoint of miserable sinner, that supernatural provision stuff is a tall order because it means I have to *big gulp* climb out of my comfort zone. From the mountaintop of the LPL conference that seemed a lot more do-able.
So at small group this week we started a study on Service. Funny how when God is talking to you the same message comes from all directions. This week I've already had to fight whining with God over how completely unprepared I feel for accomplishing my "non-so-mystery-anymore what." I don't know why, like a little brat kid, I always want to scream and holler and kick my feet and fight God when He tells me what He wants me to do. I can say, though, that I am grateful when he coddles me and encourages me and shows me how it can't possibly be as bad as I think it will be.
Those that know me are familiar with "the face" I always seem to have that gives others the impression that I'm mad, sad, homicidal, or something like it. I know this face because I inherited it. It's part of my genetic make-up and nothing can be done about it. I'm also not a giant fan of chatting up people I don't know or big crowds of people. Funny story, a few months back my job on sunday morning became sitting at the WELCOME CENTER, of all places. If you know me, you have my permission to giggle at that notion. Technically my job is checking in children. It just so happens that where I sit says Welcome Center really big over the top of my head. My dear friend pointed out that she considers this activity clearly outside my comfort zone. It occurred to me that she's right. I do it anyway, though, because it needs done and I'm there early anyway because my oldest has youth group before church. So in thinking through this activity it also occurred to me that I'm able to be successful at the job because of supernatural provision. Yay! I'm doing something right. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you have to rush out and do the thing you hate in order to be faithful. I am saying that when we fill ourselves up with faith we are capable of more. And I'm no super Christian so a little supernatural provision must go a long way.
Another question Beth asked was: "Can I recount God's faithfulness to me?" I would say yes. The above example is just one of many, many examples I can think of. When I think, though, of all of the time I've walked with the Lord I'm sad to think that the greater majority of it has been from a very comfy place. That's the pervading point of all of this for me. I would really like to do more great things for God. He has done lots of great things for me.
On Faith (Part 3)
The continuing words connected to trying to process my weekend.
The second point that got my attention was this. She shared a little drawing she had made in her notes that I can't draw here, but it stood for "If nothing is coming down that must mean something is up!". When I moved to where I am now and started trying to reconfigure life, my goal at the time was to try to recapture what I had in my mid to late twenties. Like I said before, I didn't understand. So I prayed for the same thing over and over. DUH! I failed to realize that something must be up. Hindsight is 20/20, right? When I look back now it's obvious that something was definitely up.
8 years ago I found myself in what at the time I called "A God Forsaken Cow Town". I hated it. Most of the reason I hated it was because of the aforementioned emptiness I felt. My Hubby Guy had been going to a church he thought was pretty cool. It definitely had it's good points. It wasn't, however, gettin' it done for me. So we started what could only be described as a very underwhelming church search. The town where we live is a tough place. It's small and weird. I felt like Goldilocks trying to find her place in bear world. It was just ridiculous trying to find the right fit. It took time that I didn't feel like I had. We did eventually settle on a place where we could both be happy. It's been 6 years. Yay! I mention this time in my life because it's an important part of my story and actually was brought to mind while "chewing". See On Faith (Part 2)
Beth spent some time talking about the concept of serving God from a place of faith instead of a place of "fullness". She spoke about having the abundant life we're called to - the life Christ died for (John 10:10) For whatever reason, I don't think I had ever considered what having a spiritually abundant life looks like and how that's accomplished. I've always loved that verse and the concept but never spent time actually thinking about how it's fleshed out. On the way home, my dear friend, asked the question "What does faithfulness look like in daily life?" She was WAY AHEAD of me on that one. I've pondered the question since then. What we heard this weekend absolutely begs the question.
Saturday afternoon Beth started talking about an overwhelming fear that she had struggled with. I felt like it was a complete aside. Fear isn't something that I struggle with regularly. She was talking about how fear often is what steals our ability to live faithfully. So since that particular issue wasn't a biggie for me I started praying that God would reveal to me what the biggie for me is that steals my ability to live faithfully.
Pretty soon after landing feet first on a solid place church-wise, I started feeling a pretty strong calling. The odd part was I didn't know to what. I've wrestled with that odd notion for a while. As I was sitting there praying Saturday, a word came to mind. I have no reason to believe it wasn't an immediate answer to prayer. Cool, right? The word that came to mind was the word WHAT. The crazy, good part was that I knew immediately what He meant. He was speaking directly to mystery "what" that I feel called to. So, feeling particularly buoyed in spirit, I asked for the mysterious "what" that I feel like I've been chasing for years. I felt bold enough to ask for specifics. Apparently, He was feeling chatty and I got my answer.
Now, if you REALLY know me and know the uninhibited crazy-girl in me, you can probably imagine exactly how "Daffy Duck" I went on the inside over this revelation. For the rest of you, the majority, I will say only that words are hard to come by that adequately relate the joy I felt. I got a Word and it was a very personal Word. I can't remember another time in life where that has happened with such a quickness.
I'm not going to share with you my mystery what. I feel like it's a jumping off place for lots more conversations with the Father. I will, however, tell you that I have more to say. Tune in for Part 4. :)
The second point that got my attention was this. She shared a little drawing she had made in her notes that I can't draw here, but it stood for "If nothing is coming down that must mean something is up!". When I moved to where I am now and started trying to reconfigure life, my goal at the time was to try to recapture what I had in my mid to late twenties. Like I said before, I didn't understand. So I prayed for the same thing over and over. DUH! I failed to realize that something must be up. Hindsight is 20/20, right? When I look back now it's obvious that something was definitely up.
8 years ago I found myself in what at the time I called "A God Forsaken Cow Town". I hated it. Most of the reason I hated it was because of the aforementioned emptiness I felt. My Hubby Guy had been going to a church he thought was pretty cool. It definitely had it's good points. It wasn't, however, gettin' it done for me. So we started what could only be described as a very underwhelming church search. The town where we live is a tough place. It's small and weird. I felt like Goldilocks trying to find her place in bear world. It was just ridiculous trying to find the right fit. It took time that I didn't feel like I had. We did eventually settle on a place where we could both be happy. It's been 6 years. Yay! I mention this time in my life because it's an important part of my story and actually was brought to mind while "chewing". See On Faith (Part 2)
Beth spent some time talking about the concept of serving God from a place of faith instead of a place of "fullness". She spoke about having the abundant life we're called to - the life Christ died for (John 10:10) For whatever reason, I don't think I had ever considered what having a spiritually abundant life looks like and how that's accomplished. I've always loved that verse and the concept but never spent time actually thinking about how it's fleshed out. On the way home, my dear friend, asked the question "What does faithfulness look like in daily life?" She was WAY AHEAD of me on that one. I've pondered the question since then. What we heard this weekend absolutely begs the question.
Saturday afternoon Beth started talking about an overwhelming fear that she had struggled with. I felt like it was a complete aside. Fear isn't something that I struggle with regularly. She was talking about how fear often is what steals our ability to live faithfully. So since that particular issue wasn't a biggie for me I started praying that God would reveal to me what the biggie for me is that steals my ability to live faithfully.
Pretty soon after landing feet first on a solid place church-wise, I started feeling a pretty strong calling. The odd part was I didn't know to what. I've wrestled with that odd notion for a while. As I was sitting there praying Saturday, a word came to mind. I have no reason to believe it wasn't an immediate answer to prayer. Cool, right? The word that came to mind was the word WHAT. The crazy, good part was that I knew immediately what He meant. He was speaking directly to mystery "what" that I feel called to. So, feeling particularly buoyed in spirit, I asked for the mysterious "what" that I feel like I've been chasing for years. I felt bold enough to ask for specifics. Apparently, He was feeling chatty and I got my answer.
Now, if you REALLY know me and know the uninhibited crazy-girl in me, you can probably imagine exactly how "Daffy Duck" I went on the inside over this revelation. For the rest of you, the majority, I will say only that words are hard to come by that adequately relate the joy I felt. I got a Word and it was a very personal Word. I can't remember another time in life where that has happened with such a quickness.
I'm not going to share with you my mystery what. I feel like it's a jumping off place for lots more conversations with the Father. I will, however, tell you that I have more to say. Tune in for Part 4. :)
On Faith (Part 2)
OK... so I went to an LPL event on saturday. See On Faith Part 1 for background.
The easy part of an LPL event is the external experience. It starts with phenomenal worship. Then Beth comes to the stage and just starts talking about life and sharing stories from her life and the lives of those close to her. I am drawn in at that point. It's odd to me that I could be in a room with 6,ooo people and feel as if I was sitting in someone's living room. I will admit that there have been times in my life where I was more drawn to a person than what they had to say. As much as I would relish an opportunity to sit and talk with Beth, I would readily trade the opportunity just to hear from her whatever it is the Lord has put on her heart to share.
The hard part of an LPL event is reconciling the internal experience. Each event is different message-wise. All are deep. Saturday's event was internally insane for me. It's the reason why I'm feeling so very wordy. I feel like I got served something very meaty. I'm tired from chewing but feel like I have a long way to go yet. If you've ever watched the show "Man Vs. Food" you are familiar with the term "meat sweats". That's precisely where I figuratively feel I am now.
The driving point of the event was faithfulness. She compared life events for two unnamed women in the Bible (II Kings 4) and challenged us to consider where we fall on the spectrum between those two women. She talked about Girl A who had practically nothing and a big faith and Girl Z who had practically everything and had lost track of how to live a life of faithfulness. As usual, what Beth had to convey was rich. That's the best word I can use to describe how she teaches.
The first idea Beth shared that struck me was the notion that if you take the word "faith" out of "faithfulness" you are left with "fullness". When I was in my mid twenties I was part of church where I was involved with EVERYTHING. Part of the reason for that was that I was young and single. The social culture of the church was to participate in everything. I wasn't unhappy at all. I truly loved the ministries I was involved with. But, when I got married and moved away I was taken out of that culture. In my new town I began immediately to struggle with an extreme feeling of emptiness. I was paralyzed with fear, doubt, and confusion. I was just at a loss. Though, in the past 8 years I've come to terms with a lot of that, I was never able to understand so clearly what was wrong before. It occurred to me that the life I was living in my mid to late twenties was all about "fullness". The things I was participating in weren't unpleasing to God but didn't require faith on my part. In those years I was clearly like Girl Z. I felt like I had everything and didn't really need anything. I didn't even realize I needed a miracle.
The easy part of an LPL event is the external experience. It starts with phenomenal worship. Then Beth comes to the stage and just starts talking about life and sharing stories from her life and the lives of those close to her. I am drawn in at that point. It's odd to me that I could be in a room with 6,ooo people and feel as if I was sitting in someone's living room. I will admit that there have been times in my life where I was more drawn to a person than what they had to say. As much as I would relish an opportunity to sit and talk with Beth, I would readily trade the opportunity just to hear from her whatever it is the Lord has put on her heart to share.
The hard part of an LPL event is reconciling the internal experience. Each event is different message-wise. All are deep. Saturday's event was internally insane for me. It's the reason why I'm feeling so very wordy. I feel like I got served something very meaty. I'm tired from chewing but feel like I have a long way to go yet. If you've ever watched the show "Man Vs. Food" you are familiar with the term "meat sweats". That's precisely where I figuratively feel I am now.
The driving point of the event was faithfulness. She compared life events for two unnamed women in the Bible (II Kings 4) and challenged us to consider where we fall on the spectrum between those two women. She talked about Girl A who had practically nothing and a big faith and Girl Z who had practically everything and had lost track of how to live a life of faithfulness. As usual, what Beth had to convey was rich. That's the best word I can use to describe how she teaches.
The first idea Beth shared that struck me was the notion that if you take the word "faith" out of "faithfulness" you are left with "fullness". When I was in my mid twenties I was part of church where I was involved with EVERYTHING. Part of the reason for that was that I was young and single. The social culture of the church was to participate in everything. I wasn't unhappy at all. I truly loved the ministries I was involved with. But, when I got married and moved away I was taken out of that culture. In my new town I began immediately to struggle with an extreme feeling of emptiness. I was paralyzed with fear, doubt, and confusion. I was just at a loss. Though, in the past 8 years I've come to terms with a lot of that, I was never able to understand so clearly what was wrong before. It occurred to me that the life I was living in my mid to late twenties was all about "fullness". The things I was participating in weren't unpleasing to God but didn't require faith on my part. In those years I was clearly like Girl Z. I felt like I had everything and didn't really need anything. I didn't even realize I needed a miracle.
On Faith (Part 1)
This weekend I went to a Living Proof Live event. Beth Moore is the speaker at these events. In my opinion, LPL is the best event available for women who want a Word from the Lord without all the hype and infomercials that other events of it's nature come with. Beth Moore is a dynamic speaker and I have found more often than not
that we set off in a direction and you think you know what's going down
and then out-of-the-blue the holy spirit launches a sneak attack. That
is exactly what happened to me on Saturday.
Last year we went to an event in Baltimore, MD. I was the trip planner and several things happened that tilted my slight OCD brain. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a word she said all weekend. The enemy successfully hijacked my thoughts and had me mentally careening back and forth between anger and feelings of complete inadequacy. I was the trip planner again this year and made a pretty rock solid itinerary that warded off any of the bobbles that happened last year. Moreover, I traveled this year looking for a Word from the Lord and was dedicated to not becoming side tracked. I'm pleased to report a successful mission.
As I write this post I am not completely convinced that I will publish it. I do, however, need desperately to try and organize my thoughts about the things that happened and what I heard over the weekend.
First of all, 11 women went on this trip from our church of less than 300. I don't really know how many members our church has. Typical adult attendance on Sunday is somewhere just south of 200 on a really good day. I found that spectacular. There would have been several more but there was another fun thing on the same weekend and unfortunately you can't be in two places at once. I don't know that in the 10 year history of the church there has been a women's trip so well attended. So Yay!
The event date we chose was a one day only event. We decided to make 2 days of it because there was a several hour drive to get to the venue. So we set out on friday morning armed with an air-tight itinerary. Our first stop was a couple hours out at a mall for lunch. I include this is my recalling of the story because it's the first place something wonderful happened. We gathered food from our preferred establishments then rendezvoused in the middle of the food court to dine together. Interestingly enough, I chose a food court because I wanted to please as many as I could and figured everyone could go their own way, eat together, not eat together, or whatever. I chose the path of least resistance. What happened was magical. We all sat together to eat and chat. That in itself wasn't really magical but what it led to was. The conversation twisted and turned a bit but ended with us laughing really hard such that attention was drawn from all over the food court. We were even approached by a sweet older woman who teasingly told us to keep it down. I felt like that conversation really set us off on the journey together. The funny knit us together from the beginning and I felt like that was really important because we were a somewhat diverse group and a group that doesn't generally hang out together. I won't describe the rest of that day but it was spectacular and filled with several more golden bonding moments.
I've decided now to split this into more than one post. I'm feeling wordy and feel like I need to break it down. And, I've decided to post my experience and hope not to bore you to death. (All 2 of you who read this)
Last year we went to an event in Baltimore, MD. I was the trip planner and several things happened that tilted my slight OCD brain. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a word she said all weekend. The enemy successfully hijacked my thoughts and had me mentally careening back and forth between anger and feelings of complete inadequacy. I was the trip planner again this year and made a pretty rock solid itinerary that warded off any of the bobbles that happened last year. Moreover, I traveled this year looking for a Word from the Lord and was dedicated to not becoming side tracked. I'm pleased to report a successful mission.
As I write this post I am not completely convinced that I will publish it. I do, however, need desperately to try and organize my thoughts about the things that happened and what I heard over the weekend.
First of all, 11 women went on this trip from our church of less than 300. I don't really know how many members our church has. Typical adult attendance on Sunday is somewhere just south of 200 on a really good day. I found that spectacular. There would have been several more but there was another fun thing on the same weekend and unfortunately you can't be in two places at once. I don't know that in the 10 year history of the church there has been a women's trip so well attended. So Yay!
The event date we chose was a one day only event. We decided to make 2 days of it because there was a several hour drive to get to the venue. So we set out on friday morning armed with an air-tight itinerary. Our first stop was a couple hours out at a mall for lunch. I include this is my recalling of the story because it's the first place something wonderful happened. We gathered food from our preferred establishments then rendezvoused in the middle of the food court to dine together. Interestingly enough, I chose a food court because I wanted to please as many as I could and figured everyone could go their own way, eat together, not eat together, or whatever. I chose the path of least resistance. What happened was magical. We all sat together to eat and chat. That in itself wasn't really magical but what it led to was. The conversation twisted and turned a bit but ended with us laughing really hard such that attention was drawn from all over the food court. We were even approached by a sweet older woman who teasingly told us to keep it down. I felt like that conversation really set us off on the journey together. The funny knit us together from the beginning and I felt like that was really important because we were a somewhat diverse group and a group that doesn't generally hang out together. I won't describe the rest of that day but it was spectacular and filled with several more golden bonding moments.
I've decided now to split this into more than one post. I'm feeling wordy and feel like I need to break it down. And, I've decided to post my experience and hope not to bore you to death. (All 2 of you who read this)
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