Popped Out of Place

Have you ever felt the pain of a pulled muscle or an injury that affected your daily life?

Sadly, I injured myself while running about two weeks ago.  ...I know!  You're shocked!  I've told no one but my husband about this...

I'm not really sure what happened, but I strained something...pulled something...or popped something out of place in my hip.  It wasn't horribly bad, but it did cause a dull pain that I felt every time I walked.

Did that stop me from running?  NO WAY!!!  :) 

Running is such a stress release for me--it makes me feel so much better about myself!  There was NO way I was going to stop running, even with a slight injury. 

So despite the pain, I kept running.  About a week went by and the pain was unfortunately getting worse...to the point where I was finding myself limping because of the severe pain.  I was becoming concerned that it might be noticeable to others.  See, up to this point, I had told no one about this.  Last Wednesday night at church, I did my best to hide any clue that my hip was hurting me.  I didn't want anyone to notice.  I mean, it was just a dull pain, right?

And I think I did a great job of hiding it....that is, until later that night.  As I tucked in my son for bed, he looked at me and said, "Are you limping?"

"Um........maybe......," I responded hesitantly.  I then explained how my hip felt weird...almost as if something needed to be popped back into place.  From there I then demostrated all the stretches I had been using as an attempt to fix this pain in my hip.

As I did this, suddenly I heard a loud POP and I literally felt something move in my hip.  And not just me...my son heard it too!

Instant relief. 

Since this realization thrilled me, I started to jump up and down and run in place in his room, demonstrating how I could suddenly do this without pain.  I do believe my son was happy to see his crazy mom leave his room that night.....

But I had reason to be happy!  I could walk with only minimal pain!  No more sharp pains throbbing through my body!  God had taken what was out of line and placed it back in place!

It has been almost a week since then.  I can still feel a dull pain in my hip.....BUT....the pain is less and less every day.  It's as if my body is healing from having something out of place for so long.

And have I stopped running at all during this?  You guessed it....NOPE I've continued to run!  In fact, my hip feels BETTER when I run!  Each and every day it feels better and better.

So as I was running the other day, I started thinking about this whole situation.....and God showed me a very awesome spiritual application!

When we sin...when we get out of God's will...it's like our lives become "popped out of place".  We don't function as we should because we aren't in complete obedience.  And this sin will cause "pain" in our lives.

But.......................................once we repent, God takes that sin and washes us clean.  He then "pops" the displaced joint back into place.  He puts us back together so we can function appropriately!

However--and this is VERY IMPORTANT--

...............even though God "pops" us back into place, that does not mean that we are free from the consequences of our sin.

Just as I still feel pain from the joint that was out of place, we also will feel the results of our sin....even after we repent.  For example, if we are addicted to alcohol, we will have to endure the recovery process after we stop drinking.  If we lied to someone, we will have to deal with the results of this dishonesty.  If we acted out in anger, we will have to clean up the mess we made.  If we hurt someone, we will have to deal with the consequences.

And this is where it is VITAL to keep moving forward.  Running every day, despite the pain, has actually helped my body to heal. 

The affects of our sin will try to hold us back.  The enemy will try to make us feel unworthy....
incapable...
inadequate...

The enemy would want us to wallow in our guilt.

But God is calling us to MOVE FORWARD! 

Move forward out of the sin.  Move forward past the guilt.  Move forward and work through the consequences of our sin.  Move foward to get rid of that sin.

It may be painful for a short time, but God WILL heal us as we step out in faith!

Keep running the race.  Keep moving forward!

Me.....a Leader????

Have you ever wondered what God was thinking?

He took me--a shy girl--and turned her into a pastor's wife.

I was the one who could go through a whole school day without talking.  I was the one who had a panic attack if the teacher called on me.  I was the one nicknamed "Mama Mouse" by my 4th grade teacher because of my quiet voice.  I was the one who dreaded any type of social situation.  To say I was painfully shy would be a giant understatement.

As a child, I anticipated being a mom and a teacher.  Yes...I did know a teacher would have to speak in front of others.  But somehow a class of children didn't seem as threatening as my peers...or adults.  I knew I could NEVER teach adults.  The thought made me sick to my stomach....

What I didn't realize was the plan God had for me.  His plan was not for me to go through life living in my "bubble" of shyness.  His plan was to take this shy girl and turn her into a leader.

........................seriously????????

Over the years, God has drawn me out of my shell.  He has put me in situations where I have to speak...teach...sing....lead.

And do you know what?  That is SOOOO out of my comfort zone!  I feel incapable.  I feel unable.  I am weak.  I feel out of my element.  I don't always feel confident in myself.  I am scared....vulnerable...

But it's at THAT very moment I have to decide.....am I going to stay in my bubble of comfort?  Or am I going to take a step of faith and walk forward into the plan God has for me?

I may have fears.  But in God, all fears are wiped away.  He is my strength.

I may feel incapable.  In fact, in and of myself, I AM incapable.  But with God, He is my strength.

I may feel no confidence in myself.  But I have to look instead at the "God-confidence" I have.

We all have the potential to be used mightily by God.......IF we venture out of our comfort zone.  IF we trust God.  IF we step out in faith.  IF we leave our comfort zone....

Our comfort zones are just that...they are comfortable.  They are easy.  They aren't a challenge.  But God is calling us to be MORE than that.  He is calling us to S-T-R-E-T-C-H....let's move out of our comfort zone and into the area God wants us to move in.  Life lived inside your comfort zone is life lived outside of God's will.

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear.

It's something we all have experienced.  That intense feeling of dread..apprehension...anxiety.  Your palms get sweaty...your heart races...you try to find a way out of the situation...you have a panic attack. 

Sound familiar???

It is DEFINITELY familiar to me.  Although, I do have to admit that I am scared of some unusual things.  Well, actually, they do send me into a panic.  Bees for one thing.....I absolutely hate bees and wasps.  They will cause me to start running wildly in the opposite direction.  Second is dentists.  Yes.  I hate the dentist.  And not just hate.  I go into an absolute panic attack.  And not because of the drill...no that part isn't bad.  It's the x-rays I hate.  (Yes, I am unusual.)

But beyond that, there's many other things that cause me to fear.  The enemy is always attacking me with thoughts that cause the fear to start creeping in.  Sometimes I don't dwell on the thought and take it right to God.  Sometimes, I admit, I do dwell on it....and that very quickly spirals into a deep fear that hinders me from doing what God wants me to do.

Fear is paralying.  Fear hinders you.  Fear will keep you from the path God wants you on. 

God has been really challenging me lately about fear.  Fear is keeping me from what God wants me to do.  Fear is hindering me from moving forward. 

So today I spent a few hours at the church...alone....just me and God.  I wrote down all the ways the enemy is attacking me with fear.  It filled a whole notebook page......with one fear per line.  Then I felt God telling me to pray about each and every one.  It's amazing as I went down the list how I could see exactly how the enemy is attacking me.  It's amazing how a lot of the fears are related to each other.  It's amazing how deep the fears went after so long of not giving them over to God.  It's amazing how MANY fears I found inside of me.

After I reached the bottom of the list, I knew exactly what I needed to do.  I tore the paper into about a hundred pieces.  I tore my fears up and I laid the pieces on the altar.  And I did NOT take them back! 

PEACE.  Peace.  Peace.  Overwhelming peace is what came next. 

No longer do I have to keep these fears.  In fact, I never was suppose to carry them at all!  I am determined to never take these fears back.  I am tired of being afraid.

Yes, I'm sure the enemy will tempt me with those thoughts again.  I am sure it will be hard.  But I am also completely sure that God will help me through it.

If you are dealing with fears, I encourage you to do the same thing I did.  Write them down, pray over them, and then give them over to God.  COMPLETLY over to God!  Don't pick them back up again!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7

Oh, I'm Running to Your Arms

My goal all day long was go to running after work.  3:30 came and left and I just didn't get to run like I had wanted.  By 4:30 p.m. I found myself snuggled in my warm bed....fully intended to sleep instead of run.  I mean, it did kinda look like it would start raining or storming at any point.  Sleep was a better option, right?

But something stirred inside of me.  Something that kept me awake.  Something that urged me to run despite my desire to sleep. 

So I got up.  I put my contacts back in.  I put on my running clothes.  I put on my running shoes.  I was motivated to run.  I craved it.  You see, my running time is a time of sweet commune with my Savior.  I needed it.

After I got two steps out the front door, my desire quickly changed as I realized it had JUST begun to rain!  And not just sprinkle.  It was raining pretty good.  I turned around and walked back to the front door, with the thought that I would just take a nap instead.

But wait.  Why can't I run?  What is stopping me?  Is a little rain going to stop me from getting my exercise and having a wonderful prayer time with Jesus?  My mind immediately went back to the race this past Saturday.  We ran in 42 degrees with pouring rain.  ...and it was fun!!!!!  Today it was 62 degrees.  What's wrong with running today?  Why am I trying to get out of it?

Why do I think I can't run in the rain?  Why do I limit myself? 

So I turned back and decided to run anyway.  Despite the rain. 

I truly felt like I had a breakthrough today.  I felt empowered.  I felt a sense of accomplishment at running in the face of something that would normally stop me.

And while running....and wiping the rain off my face....I sensed God speaking to me about the "race" that we are all running. 

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

We are all called to "run the race" set out before us.  Sometimes things get in our way and distract us from the race.  I can't tell you how many times I've been attacked by ducks, birds and dogs while running!  Those things often make me want to stop running.  In the same way, things can get in the way of our spiritual race.  We can easily put things before God and get distracted from what we really are suppose to do.

Sometimes we get tired....sometimes we are injured.  I often feel sore.  I don't want to finish.  My body aches and I just want to give up.  In the same way, sometimes we are wore out and spiritually don't feel like fighting.  But God is calling us to keep pressing on!!!  ....no matter what!

Sometimes the weather prevents us from running.  It's easy to run when it's sunny and warm!  But what about wind?  Rain?  Snow?

We all have "sunny" days when everything seems to go our way.  Those days are easy to serve the Lord, aren't they?

But what about a "stormy" or "windy" day?  A day when everything seems to be going wrong?  Did you ever have one of those "when it rains it pours" days? 

Things will happen to upset us.  That's just normal.  People will do things that we don't like.  That's just normal.  We can't control that.  What happens when people say unkind or untrue words about us?  How do we react?  Do we become "unglued" and retailiate?  Or do we let God be our defense? 

We may not be able to control other people, but we can control our reaction.  Are we going to stop running when these storms happen?  .....if so....why?  That's like me turning around and going back inside because of a little rain.

God has called us to run the race with perseverance.  That means we are to keep going!  Keep pressing on!  Keep MOVING FORWARD! 

Stormy days will come.  Windy days will come.  The rain will fall.  But no matter what we are to keep steady on the race marked before us. 

God will never leave our side.  In fact, it is HIS arms we are running towards. 

(...and to top it off, we sang one of my favorite worship songs tonight!!!)

Oh I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms,
The riches of Your love will always be enough,
Nothing compares to Your embrace,
Light of the world forever reign.

Running the Race

Though I have been a runner for several years now, I have found a passion for racing.....a passion that I didn't realize I had.  There's just something so refreshing and inspiring about running a race, with hundreds of other runners.  It motivates you to run faster than normal.  It challenges you to push the limits of how strong you are.  And there's a great sense of accomplishment that comes when you cross the finish line and hear friends, family, and strangers cheering for you.

I have made it my personal goal to run more races....and decrease my time with each one!  Additionally, I have decided to push myself to run some LONGER races too!  Recently when I ran my first 10K race, I spent most of the race quoting Philippians 4:13 over and over to myself....

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me."

I made it to the end.  I finished the race.  I struggled greatly during the race, but I finished....WITHOUT walking during any of it!

A few weeks ago, I ran a 5K race with my mom close to where she lives.  This race was particularly special to me because my dad came along to watch the race.  During my childhood he worked nights, so never was able to attend any of my special events.  As you can imagine, it was pretty exciting to have him come watch me.  I felt like a little kid.  Overjoyed that my dad would be there.

As the race began, the thought that permeated my mind was "I have to run fast so that I make my dad proud."  Now, I know he would be proud no matter what.  But I had a deep motivation to run like I never had before.  I knew my all time personal record on a 5K race was 37:00.  Yes....I know....I'm slow.  Slow and steady....

My first few steps of the race were noticeably faster than normal.  I cringed as I wondered if I could keep up the pace or if it would tire me out too fast.  But I kept the pace....the whole time knowing that my dad was waiting for me at the end. 

Run fast.  Take faster steps.  I'm strong.  I can do this.  I can beat my personal record.  My dad's waiting for me.  1 mile down...just over 2 miles left....I can do this.  Faster.  I'm not tired...I'm strong.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I can pass that lady in front of me.  Keep going.  It's almost the end.  1 more mile.  My dad is waiting for me.  I have to do my best today.

These were the thoughts going through my head.  I stayed focused on my pace...and keeping my speed.  I ignored the signs of fatigue and just wanting to stop and take a break.  I had a reason to keep going....my dad was at the finish line.

As I neared the end and rounded the corner in the park, I glanced at my watch and saw that it said 32 minutes.  SERIOUSLY?????????  I only have a short while to go.  This was the fastest I had EVER run!

Soon I saw the finish line and glanced around and saw my dad waiting there.  My speed picked up again and I ran through the finish line at 33:27.  My personal record.  I did it.  I beat my time by over 3 minutes.

My desire to make my dad proud motivated me and pushed me to a level that I had not gone to before. 

That makes me think.................

What about our Heavenly Father?

We are all running a race, arent we?  We are all pressing on to win the prize.

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:14

We all have a Heavenly Father who is waiting at the finish line.  He is cheering us on.  He wants us to finish our race strong...and to press on. 

Just as I was motivated to run my best race for my earthly father, I should be motivated to "run my race" and make my Heavenly Father proud.  Each and every day of our lives we are moving forward in this race.

Are we making Him proud?  Are we doing the best that we can?  Are we moving forward...or are we taking a break on the sidelines?  Do we find strength in Him to press on?

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1

Diet 7-Up VS. My Laptop

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you poured a can of pop into your laptop computer? 

Well, the other day, I decided to pull a very interesting stunt!  NO, I did not do this on purpose.  In fact, it only happened as I was trying to be very careful!!!

In an effort to prevent any spills, I bought these snap-top lids that fit on top of a regular pop can.  It takes quite a bit of pressure to snap them on, but once on they turn your can of pop into a bottle with a lid!  Quite a genius invention, I do have to say!!!

So the other day while working, I went upstairs to get a can of Diet 7-Up and a lid.  BUT......instead of snapping on the lid while upstairs, I brought it down to my desk.  Yep.....right next to my work laptop. 

As I was pressing down on the lid to snap it on, a thought came flashing through my head. 

...this is probably not the best thing to be doing this right next to my laptop!!!

And you guessed it!

WHAM!  The can slipped out of my grip and flew to the side, pouring out INTO the keyboard of my computer.

...whoops...that wasn't suppose to happen...

The next few moments included me yanking the cord from the laptop, flipping it over on the floor (to get any liquid out), and then turning it off.  Then came my panicked text messages to my coworkers asking what I needed to do next.

Needless to say, my laptop spent the weekend sitting upside down on top of rice, to draw out the moisture.  It was very interesting to field questions from my kids about why in the world my laptop was in a bag of rice...and then to see them shake their heads at me when they heard what I had done....

As I turned it back on Sunday afternoon, I prayed it would work........AND.....despite a few sticky keys, it did!!!!!!!!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!!

I can honestly say now that my can of pop is nowhere near my laptop anymore.  I have learned my lesson!

As I think back, I laugh at the whole situation.  I just didn't think it would be a danger to have my 7-Up so close to my laptop.  I've worked with computers for years and never had a situation like this!!!!

That may seem like a silly mistake of mine, but turning this into a spiritual application....how many of us "play with fire" when it comes to sin???  We know we shouldn't do certain things.  We know we should stay away from things that pull us in the wrong direction.  We might watch movies or shows that are not appropriate...or maybe we spend time with the wrong crowd.  Or maybe we entertain thoughts that are not Godly. 

Maybe we just do these things from time to time, thinking they won't influence us.  Just a little bit of sin won't hurt us.......right????

Whatever it is, if we "play with fire" and allow sin to creep in, it WILL take over us eventually.  It will flood our lives before long.  If you put yourself in a situation that gives the enemy a foothold, he will take over your life.

A New Kind of Diet

Diets.

I think of being hungry. I think of depriving myself of chocolate (that would be a shock to my system!) and other foods that I love. I think of eating healthy foods that are not really what I am wanting to eat.

I could seriously just eat chocolate and be okay with that!

But despite not being thrilled about the "idea" of dieting, I still do it! In fact, I have been on a weight-loss challenge since January and have lost 18 pounds in 3 months. Though I may not like dieting, I know my body needed it.

In the whole scheme of things, the negative and hard part of dieting is completely worth the satisfaction of being able to fit into a smaller pair of pants. It is completely worth it to feel better about myself...to feel "healthier"...to feel stronger....

AND...I love watching myself disappear!!! I love getting smaller and smaller! I know that God wants me to be healthy!

Through this challenge, I have realized that though I use to focus on food, it is really not (and should not be) the focus of my life. Food is not the center of my life. I need to CRAVE the things of God instead!!!!

But thinking on that (and on my hubby's sermon tonight), I thought about going on a "diet" from the things of this world that distract me from what God wants me to do. The things of this world keep me busy and often distract me from time spent with God.

But should they be the focus of my life?

Some people go on a Smoothie Diet...some on a fruit diet...some on a protein diet. It's time for me to go on a "Spiritual Diet"....and by that, I do NOT mean lessening spiritual things. What I mean is to focus on SPIRITUAL things!

If I'm going to make my body physically healthy by eating the right foods and exercising, why not do the same spiritually?

Not Even a Hint-Part 2

As I wrote in my last blog, keeping the door to sin closed in our lives is of utmost importance. This was very clearly demostrated to me the other night when we came home from church on a Wednesday night.

Backing up the story a few hours........as we left for church that night, I told my son to make sure the outside light was on. Then we went downstairs through the garage and into my car, closing the garage door as we left. Everything seemed normal....

Or so we thought.

Fast forward a few hours to when we came home....

My kids and I pull in the driveway, unable to get into the garage since the garage door opener is with my husband who was still at church. We got out of the vehicle and trudged through the snow and cold to the front door. I put the key in, fully expecting it to unlock. However, my ideas of being in a warm house quickly vanished as I realized the front door was not opening. The lock was unlocked, but something was preventing me from opening the door.

I struggled for awhile and finally determined that it seemed to be the lock we have at the top of our door seemed to be locked. This seemed really strange to me as we use this lock when we are INSIDE the house since there is no way to unlock it from outside.

I turned to my kids and asked them if they knew anything about it. Instantly my son looked a little guilty and said, "Well, I locked it before we left....I thought you asked me to!"

AHHHHHH!!!! I asked him to turn on the light...NOT to deadbolt the door from inside!

Clearly we were not going to be getting inside the house through this door.

We walked through the snow looking at our other options.

The garage door wasn't a possibility as it was shut and we didn't have the opener for it with us. The sliding glass doors could only be opened from the inside.

Our garage DOES have 2 regular doors, both of which I have a key for. BUT..........since moving here we had piled boxes of stuff in front of the doors. (Bad idea, I know) There was no way those doors were going to budge either.

We all realized that there was no way in the house at this time. It was snowing and cold and we had no idea how long my husband would be before he would be home. I started considering driving back to church to get the garage door opener.

But at that exact moment, we noticed a vehicle slowing down and pulling into our driveway. IT WAS MY HUBBY!!!! HORRAY!!!

We all started jumping up and down, cheering that he finally arrived. He pulled in and rolled down the window and said, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?????" We certainly don't make it a habit to stay outside in the snow and then cheer when people pull into our driveway.

So what does this have to do with sin???? Well my last blog was about keeping the door to sin shut in our lives....and I think this is definitely a great example!

Our house was locked up...it was shut...there was no way of us getting in. This is how we should react to the sin that we encounter. We should do everything to protect our lives from any invasion of sin. We should do everything to make sure our lives are not affected by the sin. We should be locked up to the sin around us!

Sin is a choice. We can protect ourselves or we can allow it to infiltrate our lives. What is your choice?

Not Even a Hint

Imagine it is the coldest day of the year. You wake up in the morning and crank up the heat. But for some reason, it just doesn't seem to get warm in your house. You keep turning the heat up and you pile blankets on top of you.....but still...you are freezing!

Then you realize that there is a draft coming in. Once you investigate, you notice that the draft is coming from your back door being completely OPEN!!!! The coldest day of the year and you are letting in all the cold air from outside. No heater would be able to keep up with that!

That may seem crazy, but I have to tell you, I know exactly how that feels............because it happened to me recently!

Yes, on one of the coldest days of the year, I woke up and turned up the heat higher than normal to take the "chill" out of the air. I put 2 long-sleeved shirts on and then I piled 2 blankets on top of me while I began my day at work.

A little while later, my kids went off to school and my hubby left for work. I sat downstairs, typing away on my computer, but noticing that I was just not getting warm at all. A few hours went by and I realized that the air was getting colder instead of warmer. I noticed a draft coming in. WHAT WAS GOING ON???

I went around the house and checked the heat to make sure it was on and working. Then I added some more blankets wrapped around me. Still didn't help.

A short time later, I decided something was majorly wrong. My house should NOT be turning into an icebox when the heater has been running nonstop for over 2 hours. I opened the door to the laundry room and that's when I realized what the problem was.......the door to our garage was standing there WIDE open!

A few hours before, my husband left for work out that same door. Apparently he left without remembering to shut the door behind him. (How does that happen????) So that day...on one of the coldest days of the year....our house was wide open to the frosty air outside. Our laundry room was completely freezing!

As you can imagine, my next few moments involved both shutting the door AND calling my husband to ask him what in the world he was thinking when he left the door open. He was very surprised to hear that he had done that!

During the next hours of thawing out in our basement, I was thinking about this whole incident.

One door.

ONE.

That's all it took to make our house completely frigid.

One door opened let in enough cold air to affect our house in a negative way.

If we think of this as our lives....what happens if we leave the "back door" open and let just a little bit of sin in?

How much sin is too much?

How much sin does it take to affect us? ....to affect our lives? ....to affect our household?

A little bit of sin can cause the enemy to have a foothold in our lives (Ephesians 4:27). A tiny bit of sin is all it takes to affect our lives negatively.

Sometimes it's easy to open up just a little door to sin. Some sin is appealing...even fun at times. Sometimes sin is attractive and it's easy to think we can manage just a "little bit" of sin.

But a little bit is all it takes. One open door is all it takes. Just as the cold overtook my house, one little bit of sin will eventually take over our lives.

Take a pitcher of water and add one drop of food coloring. That one drop is enough to affect the entire pitcher of water.

It's time to shut all the doors to sin in our lives. We protect our houses in the winter by sealing windows and doors. Why not seal up our spiritual lives and protect ourselves from even the slightest bit of sin?

It's time to have not even a HINT of sin in our lives!

The Chopped Challenge

Last week my son wanted to try something new for dinner. He really wanted us to give him a "Chopped Challenge". Him cook us dinner??? Well...OF COURSE!!!!

If you have ever seen the television show "Chopped" on the Food Network, you would know what he meant by the challenge he wanted. On "Chopped", the contestants are given a mystery basket that contains secret ingredients...most of which are highly unusual and would NEVER be put together under normal circumstances. Then the goal is to make a dish...and appetizer, entree, or dessert...using those mystery ingredients. The contestants must use each ingredient given in the basket....however, they can also add anything extra they would like. It is so very interesting to see the creations these talented chefs come up with!

So....when my son asked us about this, we quickly agreed and began compiling our own list of mystery ingredients. We didn't want to be too difficult, but on the other hand, we wanted it to be a challenge for him!

My husband went grocery shopping for this special event and came how with a very interesting assortment....

1. Chicken
2. Cool Ranch Doritos
3. Croutons
4. Potatoes
5. Easy Cheese...squirt cheese in a can

What a combination!

Tra went to work and took the next hour or so making his own creation. He did quite well, I do have to say! He made chicken, dipping it in egg and then into crushed doritos. Then he fried the chicken in oil. Next he sliced the potatoes and gave them a coating of crushed croutons and spray cheese. These were also fried in oil..........making our dinner so very healthy!!!

The end result...a very good dinner! Although he was not very pleased. Tra felt the chicken and potatoes didn't have enough flavor. We didn't agree and thought everything was good...and it was very nice to have our son cook for us!!!!

So this whole thing got me thinking. Chopped. The whole idea of the show is to use what you are given and to make it into something wonderful.

Isn't that what we're suppose to do with what God has given us also?

God has given each and every one of us specific giftings and talents. If we take what He has given us and nurture that and use it the best way we can, it will turn into something beautiful...and effective for His kingdom!!!

But..........................if we don't use our talents for God, they go to waste! Just like on the "Chopped" show, if a contestant forgets to use some of the ingredients, they are usually the ones CHOPPED and sent home!

The contestants could spend all their time wishing they had different ingredients.....or they could spent their time utilizing what they have been given.

In the same way, we can spend our lives wishing we had different talents....or we can use the ones God has given us.

Now that's not to say that we can never develop new talents. I know from personal experience that is possible. Just a few months ago, I wouldn't have known what to do with a guitar if you put it into my hands...... Now...after much practice...and sore fingers...I have learned how to play some songs!!!!

The point is, God has gifted us with talents....AND desires to nurture/develop other talents. So embrace your "CHOPPED" challenge and use the talents He has given to you!

A Good Laugh! I Love My Kids!!!

I love my kids! They are a constant source of joy for me! ...Well, unless they happen to be having a teenage attitude or back-talking me... But that doesn't happen too often!!!

I thank God often for allowing Kirk and I to be the parents of such wonderful kids. They truly are a blessing!

AND...they keep me laughing! I was working on adding to the list of funny things they have said through the years, so I thought I'd share some of them with you.

Jynna (2007)--After hearing an organ was donated to the church, she said, "EEEEWWWW..who would give an organ to a church????"

Jynna (2007)--Said she needed some "Ag neick" medicine (...acne)

Kyrie (2007)--Looking at old pictures of Kirk and I, she saw one with Kirk wearing his class ring. She said, "Ohhhh...there's Daddy with his mood ring!"

Jynna (2007)--When we were discussing going on an airplane and being on a runway, she said, "But runways are for models???"

Kyrie (2008)--When explaining to hear what internal bleeding is, she said, "Just how would you put bandaids on your vines?" (she mean veins)

Tra (2008)--Asked the waitress at Olive Garden for more "Craytons" (...croutons)

Tra (2008)--After watching the news, came to me and said, "That city has 7 square people per mile!"

Kyrie (2008)--While drinking milk, Kyrie said, "Don't bother me, I need all the vitamin C I can get!"

Tra (2008)--Kirk said, "I need to eat to get some sustenance." Tra responded with "Sustenance...what language is that???"

Tra (2008)--When doing homework, he said "6 minus 4...is that even possible?"

Kyrie (2008)--She was told her new glasses made her look sharp. She was then wondering why she looked "Pointy"

Tra (2008)--Told him to right-click the mouse on the computer. He proceeded to type the word "Click"...

Kyrie (2009)--"I'm kinda mad Adam and Eve sinned, but I'm kinda glad too. Cuz now we have all these cute fashions!"

Jynna (2009)--Wanted me to make cookies from "Scrap"....(scratch)

Kyrie (2009)--Told us the moon has only been around since the 1800's.

Kyrie (2009)--"My teacher had us get out paper and practice with our compass and chiropractor"

Kyrie (2009)--"Why did we skip the year 1920?"

Jynna and Tra (2009)--Jynna says, "How do you ask for a coffee with no foam?" Tra-"You ask for no foam."

Tra (2009)--I asked him if it is pouring or drizzling out. He said, "A little bit of both."

Kyrie (2009)--"In 1992, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

Tra (2010)--"I made a vow to myself. When I get my own place, I'm going to buy canned toothpaste cuz it never runs out!"

Tra (2010)--Told us we were good candidates for the show "The World's Strictest Parents"

Kyrie (2010)--Was microwaving a TV dinner and needed it to be heated for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. She asked me how to type in "seven fifty" on the microwave.

Jynna (2010)--"Does W come after Z in the alphabet?"

God-Confidence

I have gone backwards in my confidence...relying on others instead of God.
...since when did it matter what other people thought.
...since when did I need someone else so much.
...since when did I need someone's approval.

Where did my God-confidence go?

I should be a blazing a trail...not a trail of comfort
...but a trail of absolute dependence on God.

Where there is comfort...there I depend.........on the comfort....on myself.
...Do I even need God then?

When I step out of the boat, in COMPLETE faith......then there is only dependence on God.

I can no longer rely on the familiar.
I can no longer do it in my own strength.
...It's ALL God.
Trust.
Absolute faith.

Why would I want to remain in the familiar?
It might be easy.
...but why go through the motions?
...That's TOO easy!

God is calling me (us) to be uncomfrtable.
He is calling me (us) to blaze a trail.
...to walk in His path.

no matter what

When I don't understand what He's doing, I simply trust.
I simply follow.
No questions asked.
Blind trust.

Step out of the boat.
Trust God to do HIS part.
And He will never fail you.

Cheese...The Latest Addition to Our Garage

Never a dull moment in the Brown household...that's for sure! Whether it's tackling 10 loads of laundry....or catching our dog after he escaped to the neighbor's horse arena....or having a Just Dance competition....or belching the ABC's...or spelling our name in pretzels....there always seems to be something interesting going on in our household!!!

And tonight was no different!

It started as a trip to go to Walmart. Yes, my second home. It seems like I am forever running to Walmart for things that I have forgotten while grocery shopping. It's not that I don't have a list when I grocery shop. I do. I just somehow forget things still.

Sometimes I forget the very thing that prompted my trip to Walmart. Sometimes I forget to give the cashier my stack of coupons that I spent 20 minutes sorting out and organizing BEFORE my grocery shopping adventure.

Today was different. I actually remembered everything I went to the store for. WHOA! When has that ever happened????? I even remember to get my hubby the queso cheese dip that he loves! Success!

And.....(hold your breath...this is unbelievable...)..............I only spent 45 minutes in the store! GASP!!!! Normally my Walmart trips consist of me going back and forth from one side of the store to another as I keep remembering items I forgot. For instance, I'll go to the health and beauty side of the store and then remember I forgot to get milk. GRRRR....

Not tonight! Tonight it was quick and easy! Walmart was not even busy! The aisles were clear and I power-walked with my cart.

I found a check-out lane with no one waiting.....BONUS! Then I loaded my vehicle and drove home...pleased it was only 6:30 pm!!!

I arrived at home, honking as I pulled into the driveway...which signified to my family that it is time to help mom unload the groceries. I quickly went to the back of my SUV and opened the trunk.

The next events happened so quickly that there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. Apparently there was a bag that shifted while I drove and found itself leaning ON the door that I was now opening.

Before I knew what happened, a bag came rolling out of my trunk and landed on the garage floor with a load THUMP. I looked down and saw 2 boxes of cereal in this bag. My immediate thoughts...."No big deal...just a few boxes of cereal." So I quickly picked it up to carry inside.

However, to my shock I realized that the cashier had placed the glass jar (and yes I bought the large size one) of queso cheese in WITH the cereal. Yes, that THUMP I heard was actually the glass jar breaking into several pieces. I looked down and realized that the garage floor had a very large area of queso cheese on it....well, queso cheese mixed with glass. Along with that was the boxes of cereal that were also covered in cheese. Yippee. Just what I want to deal with on a cold winter day.

Just then my loving hubby came to the rescue. For the next few moments he cleaned up broken glass and then used a broom to sweep the cheese into the nearby snow bank. Next he brought some snow INTO the garage and used that to clean the floor of the remaining cheese stain.

Then my daughter emptied the cheese covered cereal boxes into the plastic cereal containers we have....of course the cheese ended up all over the counter and microwave, but that was an easy clean-up.

So, now the queso cheese is no more. That means I will have to go to Walmart again soon. I can hardly contain my excitement....

Sometimes things in our lives don't go as planned. Sometimes things spin out of control and suddenly we have a mess. Sometimes the unexpected happens. Sometimes things don't go our way. Sometimes we don't understand what God is doing. Some days our garage floors may get covered in cheese. Some days we may be faced with things that are just not what we expected...or even wanted.

It's in those moments that we need to remember that God is in control. There's nothing hard enough that He can't handle. It's easy to panic as we try to deal with the unexpected. It's easy to be fearful.

But God never makes messes. Those unexpected things in our lives are there to teach us something. They are there to build character. Problems aren't a bad thing...instead they are what makes us strong.

The only way to get around our problems is to go through them. Too many people quit right before their breakthrough..... Next time you get some cheese on your garage floor, look at it as a blessing and an opportunity to learn something.

And...if you come to our house in the next few days, please disregard the cheese covered snow....

The Facebook Weight Loss Challenge

January. The month for starting a weight loss program.

February. The month for forgetting about the weight loss program you started.

Why is it that losing weight is so hard? As I look at my "This is My Life" goals, I know that I need to start taking better care of my body...and this includes getting back to my goal weight. Reflecting back to past weight loss programs I've been on, I thought about what it was that I did in the past that had the best results. What was it that helped me to lose 40 pounds?

Accountability.

Hands down, accountability was the thing that produced results in my life. Accountability to the people around me....AND accountability to God.

Being accountable to those around me means that I have someone to answer to. Someone will be checking up on me. I must do well so that I don't have to report bad results...or failed attempts.

Being accountable to God means that I don't just try this on my own. Instead, I surround everything I do with prayer. I bathe my whole day in prayer. When I am in a moment of weakness and really would like to devour the Oreo cookies in front of me, I turn to prayer instead. "God please help me to take care of my body...please help me to resist this temptation."

So before I even begin a weight loss challenge for this year, I know I needed a way to be accountable. I already have been taking this need to God in prayer. But I need the help of all of you. I need those around me to help hold me accountable. And how can you do this? Well, God gave me an idea....

(drumroll please...)

The Facebook Weight Loss Challenge!

I encourage everyone out there to participate in this if you are wanting to lose a few pounds. Years past when I have done "The Biggest Loser" with our church, it SOOOO helped me to stay accountable. I knew that people would ask me how much weight I lost during the week. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to accomplish my goal.

Yes, this is kinda like Biggest Loser where we will weigh in once a week. But the difference here is no one will know your weight. That is something you will keep private.

Sooooo....if you wish to participate, here are the directions.

1) First, go weigh yourself now. Don't wait until tomorrow. Don't wait until next week. Why wait? There's no better time to start that in this very moment!!!!! Record your weight somewhere private.

2) Then begin to work on getting a healthier body. That will probably consist of eating better, exercising, etc. I find it very effective to count calories and never go over my max for the day. You can find many weight loss calculators online that will tell you how many calories a day to consume to reach your goal weight in a certain amount of weeks/months.

3) Every Sunday morning, weigh in. Then look at your previous weigh in numbers to determine the amount of weight lost/gained.

4) Post your results on Facebook. Don't put your actual weight...just put the amount lost or gained.

Now, let me answer 2 questions I know you are asking yourself.

First off, why Sunday? Why weigh in on Sundays???? Well, I look at it as what better day to check on our progress than on God's day? It is a good reminder to me that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I need to honor God with my body. I need to take care of His temple.

Secondly, why post the results on Facebook???? The answer to that is ACCOUNTABILITY. Look at how many friends you have on Facebook. Each one of them will know your results. That should be motivation to do your best!!!! Who wants to report a weight gain? This should keep you on track to try your very hardest!!!

So who is with me???? Anyone out there brave enough to do the Facebook Weight Loss Challenge with me??????????

This is Your Life...Are You Who You Want to Be?

New Year's Day. The day in which everyone makes New Year's resolutions.....

Resolutions that start out with good intentions but often time fade off into ancient history by the middle of February....

Personally, I have made many different New Year's resolutions in the past. Sometimes I accomplish my goal. But mostly my well-intended goal becomes something I forget about after a few months.

So this year I am not making New Year's resolutions. Nope. No New Year's resolutions for me. Instead, I am going to give myself some "This is My Life...Am I Who I Want to Be" goals. These aren't just trivial things that I am going to forget about. This isn't a list of 49 different things that I will easily forget I even wrote down. These are things that will truly change my life. These are things that I have seen in my life that I want to change...things that will make me a better person.

I got this idea from two things. First of all, I love the song by Switchfoot called "This is Your Life". Secondly, I recently was talking to my daughter about the jewelry she likes. She made the comment that she loved this pair of earrings so much but she could never wear them. Why I asked why not, she said it was because she never wore earrings like that. Right away I responded with, "Why don't you change that?" I use to never wear bracelets or big earrings. I just didn't like how they looked on me. I liked how they looked on others though. But one day (several years back) I just decided to break out of my mold and change my pattern. And guess what? To this day I wear bracelets and big earrings!!!

That got me thinking...what else about my life do I want to change? What other things have I just been doing over and over again....things that could be changed...things that could be improved? Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and forget that we have the ability to get ourselves out of our rut!!!

So here it goes.....here are my "This is My Life...Am I Who I Want to Be Goals"....not the complete list...just some that I have jotted down for now.....(in no particular order)...

1) Draw closer to God....not just in a "temporary..last 2 weeks" burst of passion. I want a true passion that consumes my life and becomes the very foundation of my life...my reason for living...the thing I base EVERYTHING in my life on....a relentless love.

2) Take care of the body that God has given me. This goal means I need to get back to my goal weight. In the last 2 years I have lost a lot of weight, but I have become lazy in maintaining my goal weight. This goal will involve both exercising AND eating healthier.

3) Beat my 5k time and participate in longer races. In 2011, I participated in my first ever 5k race...and I LOVED IT! The whole process of racing made me prepare by taking care of my body and becoming a healthier person overall. It was scary to run my first race, but it truly took me out of my comfort zone and into something that stretched me. I don't run races to finish in the top...I know that I run too slow for that. Instead, my goal is to continue racing and to continually better my personal best time.

4) Better myself musically. I will admit...in the past I have been so busy that I failed to practice music and my instruments faithfully. God has put a renewed passion...a fire...inside me for music. I want to flourish musically and nurture these talents that He has put inside of me. They shouldn't go to waste...and they shouldn't go by the wayside and be something that I don't give attention to.

5) Spend more time in worship....and prayer....and Bible reading. These are the foundation of my relationship with God. I will draw closer to God naturally with more time spent with Him. This goal means turning off the TV, computer, etc...and purposefully spending time with God.

6) Become a better wife. Yes, my husband and I have a great relationship now...but I know it can get even deeper. He is my best friend...but I want to get even closer to him.

7) Become a better mother. My kids are growing up soooo incredibly fast! This goal is about becoming closer to my kids and doing more with them...spending more time....being a better role model.

8) Become a better pastor's wife/friend to those around me. I want to be the best friend I can be to those around me. I want to be the best pastor's wife I can be. But none of this is possible without God's help.

9) Become a true "woman of God"....one that God is proud of. I want to get rid of any areas of my life that are hindering my walk with God.

10) Get back to writing. Yes...I am writing on my blog more already. But I have failed to work at getting my writing published over the past year. I want to nurture this talent!

11) Learn to make deviled eggs. You may laugh at this one. But this is more than just being about eggs. This goal involves all those things that I previously thought I couldn't do. Deviled eggs aren't hard to make. I just have never succeeded with it! But why stop trying???? Why not keep trying until I succeed???

So there you have it....11 of my "This is My Life...Am I Who I Want to Be" goals. This list will continually change and grow as the year continues...and as the rest of my life continues. But the basic point of this is that we don't have to stay the way we are. We have the ability, with God's help, to change who we are...to better ourselves.

Think about this....This is YOUR life...are you who you want to be?