HEART'S CRY

After a day of visiting the most amazing families and a few quick shopping trips, I'm loving summer!!  It is a great time of year for kids. Water toys and swimming suits and sunscreen fill the aisles of the local stores.  Parents, Grandparents and providers filled the park with squeals of delight and squeaky swings!  Baseball, softball and soccer fields are full. Gardens are putting down contented roots. Please forgive me for a little rant about my opinion on quality and quantity time as the summer begins.   As a young Mom, I heard all about Quality time while I was wading through the daily routine of stay at home Mom and child care provider.  I would wearily smile and pick up the living room for the thousandth time OF THE DAY!  Did I provide 10 minutes of continual quality pre-academic or focused reading?  Were my kids and the kids I watched sitting in a circle while I endowed them with my expertise?  Did they have my absolute and und...

That is a statement and not an answer.  After visiting with a precious Mom yesterday who is in the middle of the storm, so to speak with her children...I wanted to give this shout out. Never Be Good Enough. We won't be good enough-ever.  Good enough parents or spouses.  We will never be good enough to be experts or professionals or at a place where we can say, "Yep, I've arrived."  If we think we have...then we are no good to anyone! Never Be Good Enough. The process of BEING with anyone is a messy, bumpy and relational journey where the only arrival gate is death.  We offer our children, our spouses, our coworkers, friends and families the opportunity to experience life with us.  The good.  The bad.  The ugly. For twenty two years, I was waiting to arrive to give, teach and counsel.  When in fact, people need someone real, transparent and vulnerable to walk with them.  Not someone who stands on a mountain in the land of u...

My husband and I began our adventure at DIA in Denver where we followed the throngs to stations.  The entire airport reminds me of a preschool setting for adults with lines and centers. As we turned the corner to the beginning of the line for security, we were still in "milling" mode with families, couples, individuals and jockeying for position as we came to the "opening" in the maze we were about to enter. Everyone was talking, laughing, crying and generally being engaged.  Noisy and crowded. As we entered the labyrinth, I stopped in my tracks.  People stopped talking and jostling and connecting.  They just began walking.   In an attempt to make contact, I tried to say "Good Morning" to my friends on the other side of the rope and they looked shocked.  Almost as if they didn't know what to do with it.   I walked slowly (driving my husband crazy) and made eye contact with as many people as I could attempting to engage them with a ...

I'm sitting at a Starbucks near a college getting ready to attend the International Circle of Security training.  To say that I'm excited is a huge understatement.  While I try desperately to ward off expectations...I must admit they are very high. It seems that I have been studying attachment and relationships for the past twenty years.  Families have opened their hearts and taught me.  My adopted brother.  My sisters.  School. Career.  Most importantly, I believe that my world view based on the Bible is that as people we are all about connections and relationships. My goal in taking this training is to see all educators, nurses, families and volunteers in churches have the opportunity to have this training!  To see families rebuilt and churches and communities strengthened. This is a four day journey of discovery and I would love to have you join!

This morning I reflecting on pride and its connection to rebellion.   In fact, I think Pride is Rebellion.   Is it selfishness and control?  The endless desire to think that our life is in our hands?  Thinking we are our all in all? Pride is a thinking of ourselves more highly then we ought.  Being sinfully prideful is thinking we are, we do and we have because of ourselves.   The more full of pride we are, the more we rely on ourselves and the more deceived we become.   Pride becomes a powerful root overtaking every area of our lives. Milt Green states, " If someone comes to God and does not repent and turn from pride, he is still walking in rebellion. He is really saying in his heart, “I will not give up pride because I love pride more than I love God.”  Pride is the root and symptom of countless other areas of sin. If a person has a root of pride, his motive will be to build ...

I've missed my Heart's Cry community and the peace that writing brings in to my life.   Second guesses and doubts were filling my mind.  "Why in the world are you writing?"  "Who wants to read your badly written rambling?"  Does this ever happen to you in any area of your life?  An activity brings joy and yet our reflection goes instantly back to results or production.  That constant battle between doing and being rages on within my heart. Do we see so many simultaneous journeys on this path that we walk or can we walk with a whole heart?  Integrated and whole?  With one purpose?  Our interests are diverse and our goals many and yet it is all one journey.  Where have we been?  Where are we going?  Most importantly who are we walking with? My friend said to go without expectations on this current trip I'm on to build some connections with my son.  An echo of a wise Pastor who told this young family the s...

Mother's Day and graduation weekend is coming up quickly. You are on my heart this week Barb.  On my husbands and on my boys.  On our family. Hard to imagine that a year ago you were organizing, making lists for me and getting graduation all together. We miss you. I've missed you. When the boys are struggling-I think about you.  How many times did I call to put a bug in your ear and then you would call whichever boy we were worried about? Just a few days ago I said, "I wish I could ask Barb about it." David misses you.  You who taught him so much.  Who gave him hope and belief and vision.  Did you know how much he admired and respected and adored you?  He misses your voice.  Yep-the one who never talked and gave you fits for not calling misses your voice.  You are giggling about that! The boys miss you.  Each of them have struggled in their own ways.  They've worked hard on grades and in their live...

A plane went down today.   A blurp at the bottom of a news screen.  A mention somewhere in the news hidden behind the daily gossip and politics. Last week a plane went down.   How many lives forever changed while I peruse facebook and fret about my feelings being hurt.  What a self - centered life I lead. Distractions peck away at reality while we live our own type of fantasy.   A slow eroding of all that is important and noble and right. I hugged a Mom today whose son is far away from home.  A son who puts his life on the line everyday for me.   My son could have known them .  Could have been one to provide a skill set they might need now. Tonight,  a Mom and Dad not so different from myself; are facing a new reality and heart break that I hope never to face. While I groan for God to bring peace on earth in His perfect timing ; I pray for Him to bring peace to these soldier s' loved on...