HEART'S CRY

I learned growing up that soaking fall rains bring healthy crops and pastures in the spring.  So every fall I deeply soak my trees, bushes and perennials to a 6-8 inch depth.  This protects their roots and tissue and helps them be ready for spring.  I also think that the water stored in the ground helps promote oxygen and nutrients get to the roots in the spring.   I've been thinking about this in light of watching my boys grow up and working with my youth group.  Last night we reviewed a verse that we learned last year and poured over it again.  Just like these bulbs-God's Word needs to soak deeply into the soil of our hearts.  This is my prayer.  I pray that they will be "Trees planted by streams of water producing fruit in its season!" In gardening and in relationships-- nurturing growth takes a long term perspective and investment.

You were born with it and so was I.   My heart (my thinker, feeler and doer as my husband says) loves to take me down trails I shouldn't go!   Thanks to Adam and Eve we have inherited that in the fall.  Jeremiah 17:9 says that, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"   Our hearts-that inner core of humanity has to be guarded at all times.  It is deceitful and throws us off course.  It covers, lies and manipulates the truth in order to feel good.  I've included a commentary below if you would like more study. I don't like to think this way about my heart but of course it is true anyway.  Like it or not.   It is part of me that I have to tackle on a daily basis in order to serve and love God and my family with all my heart and in truth!  Do I love God with a whole heart?  With all of my thinking, feeling and doing?   With every bit of my resolution a...

Five Minute Friday Engagement Begin. Lots to do in our community this homecoming week. Which takes my thoughts to Engagement. Engagement is not just a word used by those trying to get our by in. Not just a vision statement from corporations. Not even just an interesting word to say. Engagement is a way of being.  A way of thinking.  A way of living. Engaged.  In Gear.  Engaging gears moves vehicles forward. Being engaged puts us in gear. Committed, involved, greatly interested, and invested.  Embedded in a wall. To me I see engaged as a verb...an action. The picture of active thinking and involvement. Opposite of apathy and being disconnected. Committed.  Not looking the other way or keeping quiet or "not getting involved in that." To be in gear.  All in.  Totally active and in the process. Focused like a laser on the prize. High Energy.  From parents, cheerleaders, dance team, band, and players. If you are going to do it.... Do it ...

When I see the men that I have today...I can't help but also see them through time! See them as babies on my hospital bed. See them together on the first night home. I feel their little soft hands and the beat of their hearts. I hear the sound of them sleeping and laughter. I admire and respect them as the men they are today. I praise God for His grace in our lives. I'm humbled by God's mercy and blessing. I look up to my three boys and when I'm walking with all of them...I'm the luckiest Mom in the world! When I hear what my son is doing in training...I think about that fearless two year old climbing the playground equipment. When I cheer my son as he takes out players left and right on the field... I think about my 5 year old and the book we wrote together full of drawings of buffalo and painted horses. When I visit at night with my 14 year old about life and school as he is cuddling with Oreo...I picture my 18 month old running after Buster mostly naked dow...

Tonight I appreciated the encouragement of our state Youth Pastor and his investment in our youth group, our church and our kids.  Sometimes just knowing that someone knows you are in the world helps lift the soul.   Reminds me that I am part of a much bigger picture.  Perspective enlarging.  Vision expanding. Am I an encourager to those around me?  To my husband?  My kids?  At work and in the other areas of my life?  How can I cheer up them on the road they are on? Do I focus on strengths and pay attention to what is right, noble and just?  Have I forgotten how powerful and spoken word of encouragement can be?  To put into words the good I see in their lives? What would happen if we all focus on encouraging just for a day?  The stories we could tell!!!

My sister and I were talking about the ups and downs of life.  The seasons.  The drought and famine.  The floods.  The plodding.   C.S. Lewis in his book, Screwtape Letters, describes the work that God does in the trough times through his portrayal of human life from two demons point of view.  Temptation and Triumph!  Very relevant to me today! "Humans are Amphibians! Half spirit and half animal.  As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.  This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change.  Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation-the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.  If you had watched your patient carefully you would have seen this undulation in every department of his life-his inte...

How quickly good intentions can lead to a divided heart.  A heart with divided desires and loyalties  fragmented by good intentions and lack of priorities and discipline.   A heart trying to serve two lords. What is the heart of a person?   I've included site references below.  The Bible talks about the heart as being-the core of a person.  The center of thinking.  The person's mind, will, emotions etc.  The Hebrew word for heart is "leb" and means: the inner part, soul, mind, thinking, reflection, resolution, determination, seat of appetite, emotions, passions and courage. What does a divided heart look like?   A divided heart is a fragmented heart.  A heart that is compartmentalized into categories such a career, family, God, etc.   Without focus, confidence, passion and purpose...an exhausted heart.  A heart that is trying to serve two masters...God and others/myself.  Check out Mathew 6:24! We have to ...

I needed a few minutes to myself last night...in the quiet.  In my secret place.   So I went to the top of the hill with my horses along.  In my flip flops and sundress, I followed a game trail around the yucca and cactus to the top to sit in the tall ripening grasses.   They with their heads down and noses pushing through the dead weeds to the best grasses near the ground.  I with my seat on the ground (after checking for ants and cactus) with the grass level with my shoulders and eyes. Hmmm my secret place on top of the hill.  Grasshoppers, crickets and a waning cicada or two and the munching of my girls.  The sun was slowly sinking and that soft light surrounded us that only evening can bring. Deer nest, coyote and fox droppings and tracks everywhere and me.  I've been contemplating God as our Shepherd and what that really looks like and feels like.  Do I really trust Him with All of my Heart as I'm teaching our youth?...

How do I live in the moment and yet get everything done?   Schedule "Be In The Moment Times" or Be in the Moment all the time? Balance is not all it is cracked up to be.  And yet right now my life feels like my washing machine when it is out of balance and is rocking the house.   To me this is my symptom of having my life's priorities out of line. What to do? Hit the Refresh Button! Stop Think Overcome Praise.  Again & Again & Again... Stop.   Be still and know that God is God and I'm not.  Stop the whining, excuses and anxious thoughts.  Deep breath.   Think about what is pure, noble and good report.  Think-not with feelings but with truth.  The truth does set me free! THINK!   Overcome. One step at a time.  Just do the one thing that is in front of me.  OVERCOME! Praise!   Praise God for His goodness and His love and His energy.  It is only in His Strength and Grace and M...

Big Picture Thursday:  Trail of Time Today it is all about time.   Thousands of small moments within each step I take. The time right in front of me. Behind me. Around Me!!!

That is what a friend said today in a meeting... profound!  Embrace my role!! Embrace the role that God has put me in.  Not a pat on the back.  Forget the apathetic half hug.  EMBRACE!   Embrace all that God has called you and me to be.  Embrace the difficulties and the challenges.  The hopes and the fears.  The responsibilities. It is NOT a time to shrink back and wait for someone else to jump into the flames.  Not a time to shirk off the yoke and sit on the side of the road.   The time has come for bold and courageous people to stand up and embrace what God has called them to be.   Truly, it's time to stand up and give an account. Embrace My Role! 

Listening is a skill that I'm not often successful in.  I mistake listening for some kind of passing activity that I can perform while working.   Something of an embellishment instead of the substance it is.   I spent today with a young man who taught me the importance of this hidden art.  He didn't teach, lecture, prod or nag.  What he did was quietly and with great poise show me the depth of true listening.  Better yet, I didn't get it from attending a conference or a committee meeting.  I didn't take a note hoping to decipher the verbiage. I just sat with him...learning to listen.  Listening that engages mind, heart, feeling and intuition.    Profound Simplicity.

Getting ready for our home opener in football and geared up to watch my Freshman and my Senior play their hearts out! A football game is such an awesome visual of all that is life!  Life is and should be lived as a contact sport!  Full force.  Football is a full contact sport:  So is life, spiritual life, family, church and work.  Hit it hard with everything you have whether you are the guy with the ball or blocking and tackling or the awesome man who painted our lines and made the field look so nice or the Grandma who sacrificed to get to the game.  In life as in football we don't want to leave anything on the field.  We want to say that we gave it all we had! Takes all Positions:   Each member on the team plays a critical role on and off the field.  The long summer conditioning hours, the way you live your life to the passion on the sidelines.  The radio announcer, the chain guys (and gals), the cheerleaders, dance team, band, ...

My heart aches for kids at times in such a way that it almost breaks...  Little kids, youth, and old kids-we all have the same need to be loved, wanted, important and special. Dr. Perry says that every child in America today is in relationship poverty.  Starving for someone to have a relationship with them.  I see it everyday.  Sometimes even in my own family....   The Heart's Cry to be nurtured and touched.  To be looked at and listened to.  To have support, challenge and expectations.  To know that someone in the world thinks that they can do anything. We've tried substitutions: Stuff for time.  Pleasure for faith.   Entertainment for relationship.   Noise for loneliness.  Busyness for connection.  Stuff for reality.  We are all having it our way and yet no one is happy. We hoard our love and our affection as if we are keeping it for a rainy day.  Yet all it does is stagnate and become bitter....

Mindfulness.    Being conscious or aware of something.  Synonyms: alive to, observant, plugged in, tuned in and with eyes peeled.   More importantly, a skill I am trying to improve in my personal, spiritual, professional and family life.   Running down rabbit trails and fragmented scattered thinking has become a way of life.  Practicing mindfulness is very hard work for me!  Disciplining my mind to focus on the details and being present.   A snapshot.  Taking the big picture and then zooming in.   I practiced at the lake yesterday while the boys were exploring.  Oreo and I sat on a log and focused on one area trying to see and hear all of the details. My Observation Spot! I attempt and practice at my dining room table. Sitting at the table while the boys eat their breakfast instead of rushing around doing things.   Keeping my mind at the table and in the conversation during supper. P...

So many things matter to me...so many that I take for granted and let pass without being grateful.   1.  Conversations with my family are so precious.  You know the kind.  When my 18 year old is sharing a story about the summer and I am amazed at his insight.  Talking with my youngest at the horses make simple chores a treasure.  Cuddled with my honey watching "Shrek."   I would take them over solid gold ANY day! 2.  Being able to walk outside and enjoy the quiet. 3.  Coffee and a book. 4.  The smell of baked oatmeal in the morning on Labor Day! 5.  That I work with my friends. 6.  My parents (All of Them) who love me. 7.  The satisfaction I have when I watch the butterflies on my butterfly bush... 8.  Being greeted at church by friends and family. 9.  Sisters being my best friends! 10.  The sound of "Love ya too, Mom" 11.  David's arms and holding his hand. 12.  My Bible!!!! ...

  I met Bobby at a training and admire this young couple!  When I saw their blog...I wanted to share!  I love their "10 Things To Do Everyday List" and might have to steal that one! http://brookeandbobby.blogspot.com/

Last night went on a rare date with  my husband!  Someone at work had given him tickets to the Blue Creek Festival in Lewellen.  It was perfect!  We had wanted to go for so long. Lawn chairs, blankets and amazing jazz and blues!  Beautiful fall night in small town Nebraska.  Smells of grilling hamburgers, wine and the musty smell of dying leaves.  Watching the lady (about the age of my mom) doing the dances in the grass that mom tried to teach me made me laugh.   Three amazing bands.  David savored every note!  I tried to be impressed when he noted a Stevie Ray Vaughn or Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin sound.  A hint of jealousy in his voice as he pointed out the harp (harmonica), the different horns and the changes in the drums and guitars.  The two we saw were SolFedJoe and Mary Bridget Davies.   Mary Bridget Davies sounds like Janice Joplin and has a huge personality!  A very moving voice.  One of the ...