Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Saying Goodbye

I'm terrible at saying goodbye. Terrible.

I don't care if it's friends or family that I'll see the next day, or a random stranger I just met- I'm just awful at saying goodbye.

Granted, I've been to A LOT of funerals in my life. The number of funerals I've been to is at least equal to the number of years I've been alive...so a lot.

Maybe that has something to do with it?

I don't know. What I do know is I dread having to say goodbye to someone. Every stinkin time.

Though, my little sisters are teaching just about everyday how to get over this.

When I say, "Ok, bye." and try to sneak out, at least one of them says, "I WANT A KISS!"

Yep, no matter where we are, you might hear a little girl saying, "WAIT! I WANT A HUG! ...AND A KISSSSS!"

They are so unapologetic. So unafraid to say what they want.

I'm the complete opposite.

I'm working on finding a happy-medium.



Anyway, that's what I'm learning from my family. What are you learning from yours?

Oh, and when I tell you goodbye, I'll try to refrain from yelling, "I WANT A KISS!" No promises though.

Monday, November 14, 2011

What a difference a year makes

A year ago, my house was robbed.

Honestly, it feels like it was last month.

I had just moved into a new place less than a month before, and then the very little that I owned, was taken. Never recovered. Right before my extended family came to my new house for Thanksgiving.

If there's anything in this world that's not right, there's something.

Really, it wasn't so much the stuff. I mean, yeah, I lost anything that had value, but I'm a poor, single lady, with the career choice of a DJ. Not a lot of moolah in my coin purse. :)

The worst thing was thinking about people being in my house, going through everything, and I mean everything. Taking my pillowcases to stuff all my things in and then just walking out my front door like they owned the place.

Somehow God gave me the peace to sleep there THAT night. Granted, I had a giant saw by my bed as a weapon, but that's beside the point.

Everyday, He's worked on me. He's also restored possessions back to me in very odd ways. People just coming out of no where to give me furniture, clothes, jewelry, and electronics.

Even though I lost a lot, I was never in need. He provided just what I needed at just the right time.

The cool thing is, when God restores, He multiplies! See Job 42:10, Exodus 22:1; 22:4, Leviticus 6:5; 22:14, Mark 10:29-30, Ephesians 3:20, even Proverbs 6:31 says,
"Yet when he, the thief, is found, he must restore sevenfold..."

I'm definitely still affected by what happened a year ago, but I can't say enough of how God has provided for my every need (and even some wants!) so much so, that I'm continuously giving things away!


What has God provided for you? How has He blessed you in the last year?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Sitting on the sidelines

Have you heard Mandisa's new song "Waiting for Tomorrow"? Here's the Chorus:

Can't spend my whole life wastin'
Everything I know I've been given
'Cause you've made for so much more than
Sittin' on the side lines
I don't wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could've been better
Everyday's a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow


I love that. Especially the line "You've made me for so much more than sittin' on the sidelines".

You know who sabotages myself more than anyone? Me.

I'll be the first to give you a lengthy list of why I can't do something; why I'm not qualified enough, pretty enough, talented enough...it's easy for me to sit on the sidelines.

I'm also a planner; I like to know what is going to happen when, where, how, etc. I like to play it safe...but that usually means taking myself out of the game and sitting on the sidelines.

Maybe with my decision years ago to wait for "Mr. Right", I've started waiting (or maybe stopping altogether) in other areas too.

That's not necessarily a good thing.

All I know is that I count myself out in almost every situation before I even have a chance to think about it.

Why do I do that?

I've just sat on the sidelines, figuring- no, KNOWING other people would be better at what God was calling me to do or be. The problem is that's just not true. God has called me to a specific plan; it was meant just for me.

The next line of the song is probably just as important: "I don't wanna look back and wonder if good enough could've been better".

Ouch. Wouldn't that stink if I looked back 20+ years from now and wished that I wasn't sitting on the sidelines, although safe, not doing the things I knew God had called me to?


So, here's my first step in everyday choosing not to sit on the sidelines. Get in the game and do what God has called me to, whatever that is.


Join me?

QUESTION:
Where do you need to jump in the "game"?