Are YOU in someone's Hall of Fame?

My husband is my hero, and someone I most desire to be like.  He found his dream and his passion and he stays up nights, works insanely long hours and takes incredible risks to make his dream come true.  He lives his dream every day.  Sure, it’s hard and he puts his heart on the line quite often, but for him, it is worth it.  He is my hero because of it.  I’m truly amazed at what his accomplishments are and how fast they have come. 

My husband, Dennis, is into sports.  Mainly football and baseball, and he keeps in his head all the players and their statistics.  As a matter of fact, it is his job to know all the stats.  His dream was to start a podcast talking about fantasy sports to the masses.  So one day at the end of summer in 2010, he came to me and said, “What do you think if I built a recording studio in our home, I want to start podcasting.”  At that point I didn’t even know what a podcast was, (guess I was a little behind the times).  But I agreed and he bought a bunch of microphones and sound proofing.  Then off he went, creating podcasts and giving fantasy advice on the web.  Within the first few months he developed a significant following and had begun to book a repertoire of well admired sports guests and actors/comedians who love sports on his show.  By the next fall we were invited to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as part of the media.  What an amazing first experience that turned out to be.  Since then, Dennis has worked with ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Radio, NFL Play 60 program, The Armed Forces Network and several other large Podcasting sites around the nation.  This all happened in three years…  That, to me, is amazing. 

Again this year we went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and with our media credentials and were able to get close and personal with coaches, players, and the other media personnel there to celebrate the inductees and fifty years of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.   One theme that I found constantly was the humility that these gentlemen felt.  We were on hallowed ground in Canton, Ohio.  The men inducted were humbled and greatly honored to be chosen into “The Hall”.  There were many activities taking place throughout our time there however, the whole weekend was summed up in one magical night on the field of Fawcett Stadium.   We listened to the newly enshrines give their acceptance speeches.  These men were in awe of what has happened and they had many to thank.  They are football players, remember?  Not speech makers.  But they courageously and happily got on the stage and gave testimonies. These were not speeches, more like testimonies of hard work and dreams coming true.  They gave witnesses of many prayers of family members, broken bones and backyard ball games. 

The one that stood out above the rest for me was Hall of Fame enshrinee, Chris Carter former wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.   He spoke about his childhood and how he began in his career in football and told a joke then even an apology.  What was poignant about his speech was when he asked his mother to stand up.  He explained how much sacrifice she had done on behalf of him and his siblings.  How he knew it was hard for her while they were growing up.  It was now time for her to relax now because she, herself, was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and it was smooth sailing from here on out.  He went on to induct into the Hall of Fame his wife, his high school football coach, and the two people who showed him God and how to fight alcohol abuse.  The entire stadium was awe struck and filled with purpose. 

 

It took those people and thousands more to get him to where he is now.  Mr. Carter knew that.  He knew that everyone on the field and in the stands was part of his trip to the Hall of Fame and he recognized each one of those people in his speech and thanked them.

So the question begs…whose Hall of Fame are you in?  What have you done to encourage someone else dreams?  Or help a friend when they needed you?  You see, the types of Hall of Fames we see daily are not necessarily for Pro Football or Rock and Roll Hall of Fames.  They are for the “Best Diaper Changer” or “Hand Holder”.  I know there are people desperately looking for people to induct into their “Bring it in for a Hug Hall of Fame” or their “Shoulder to Lean On Hall of Fame”.  These Halls are just as important as any other induction if not more.  My husband is in my Hall of Fame for Hard Worker, loving husband, wonderful father...tell me those don't stack up against outstanding quarterback?

I walked out of Fawcett Stadium that summer evening not feeling like I could be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, let’s face it my spiral…well, doesn’t spiral, and my tackle doesn’t hardly motivate my husband to move.  It left me feeling inspired to find as many people as I could and give them a hand into their Hall of Fame, whatever it may be.  Let us all be more like Chris Carter’s family and friends and help each other through love and support and faith.  So that we all can achieve amazing unbelievable feats. If everyone had just one person encouraging them, think of how much confidence would be found. 

My challenge for you today is to find one person and tell them that you believe in them.  That they make a difference in your life and you know they have the ability to do what God is calling them to do.  Do it with the confidence that I know you have; because I know that God gave you; God is calling you for greatness.  You know what else?  I believe in you too.

Judgement - Where Am I Really?

I started to write my post about the progress I’ve made on this year’s plan to be less judgmental and more loving towards everyone.  I’ve struggled with it all week.  As I was praying last night about why it just didn’t seem to feel write, I sat outside looking at the stars, I thought about a post I read on Facebook.  The story talks of a man who, with the approval of his new ministry team, dressed as a homeless man on his first day as the new pastor at a large church.  Out of a 7,000 plus congregation few greeted him.  When he asked for change for coffee, he was refused.  In fact the ushers asked him to change his seat to the back instead of the front where he had found himself comfortably sitting.  The new pastor certainly was not receiving the normal welcome a new pastor would expect.

When this new pastor was introduced, the homeless looking man walked to the front of the church and the congregation stilled.  He arrived to the podium and quoted scripture from Matthew 25: 37-40  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? ’The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

This new pastor then began to describe his new congregation as a grouping of people, not Disciples of Christ Jesus and dismissed the thoroughly embarrassed congregation until the following Sunday some walked away in tears and some somberly walked from the room.  What a message. 

I don’t know if this story is true and honestly to me, it didn’t matter, the message hits home.  The question remains, what would I do?  I know I would pray for him from a distance, but if no one else talked to him, would I? How many times do we look down at someone for the way they dress, the way they talk or behave?  Even in different ways, some bully people because they ask a question we expect them to know the answer to, or wear a blouse that we feel they shouldn’t?  What isn’t known is that maybe the person wearing the blouse has more confidence when she has that particular blouse on.  Perhaps the person asking the question wasn’t given all the information we have about a topic and their questions are valid. 

When was the last time you cut someone off in traffic because they were driving too slow or angrily yelled at someone from behind your steering wheel when you’ve been cut off?  How often do we think of their story?  Are they on their way to an emergency?  What about children who are acting out of control in public?  Now there’s one where so often parents are judged as unfit. Are the children acting out because of a recent tragedy or emotional difficulties due to history of physical violence? 

The point here is that I make these assumptions all the time and I know that I’m not alone.  Making these judgment calls feels normal, easy; sometimes I cringe to say entertaining.  How horrifying to admit.  But have you seen the blogs pointing out what some consider humorous flaws in others? Lord, forgive me for seeing humor in others choice of clothing.  We do not know their stories.

I have so much to learn on my quest to love better.  I know I want to stop being so judgmental, to be a better friend, to be a better person to all, including those who are considered…the “least of these”.  Sometimes in my struggle to “fit in” I feel like maybe the “least of these” is me… 

Lord, forgive me for not always loving everyone for who they are and where they are in their life.  Help me to encourage those who are lost and looking to find you.  Help me to judge less and love more.  Amen.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

I have so much to be thankful for

My life twirls and spins.  Somtimes it spirals.  Lately I've experienced a lot of spirals that feel so much like a heavy burden.  I feel like I've taken wrong paths and missed God's calling.  We've all heard the expression, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result and I have been the epitome of the in recent months.  I've stripped my life to the bare minimum.  Cried out to God asking where did I go wrong?  Where did I miss your voice? 

"And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire...a still small voice" 1 Kings 19:12

I keep missing the still small voice because I'm too busy listening for the clanging drum.  I'm waiting for the sounds of bells that I don't hear the whispers.  The birds in the morning when they first come alive, the squeaky yawn of my sweet girl when she first rises in the morning, the winds blowing through the trees at the end of the day.  I've been too busy to notice.  Too busy filling my day with what feels like has overtaken my life.  Missed deadlines and failed certifications loom daily; I wake up in the morning and I wearily go to bed at night working and worrying over them.  Failure is the only thought I seemed to tolerate.  Meanwhile beautiful summer days and lovely memories are being made continuously around me. 

I missed twirling with my Gracie in her dresses and cuddling up for a cartoon. I even missed arguing about eating her dinner and fighting over brushing her hair!   (Have I gone mad?!)  Cuddling with my honey on the deck after our sweetness is sleeping for the night. There was so much I missed for weeks and even months. 

I missed the still small voices that God gives to be thankful for.  If we move to quickly or too loudly, we miss them.  When we allow our "busyness" to interfere with God's plan, this is what happens. I didn't fail my certifications so that God could teach me to be grateful that I have a beautiful healthy daughter and a strong wonderful loving husband.  But because I finally sat quiet long enough to hear Him, he showed me I do.  I have so much to be thankful for.

He is Enough

Some days I am completely content with my life, In addition to all my basic needs being met, I have a loving husband, sweet baby girl, a great job, fabulous friends and family who are my biggest fans.  I smile and sigh and thank God for my beautiful life.  I need nothing else to be happy, just Him.  Ahhh, thank you Lord Jesus.

Then my mind starts to wander to all my "wants" and my "gotta haves". It's like the devil realized I was taking a break.  And BAM...Don't you want a shiny new car?... BAM BAM....Your house needs a paint job....BAM BAM BAM...I can't believe you have to go to work and leave your baby again...Contentment heads right out my older less energy efficient windows. 

It is clear to me that if we have shelter and food, we are blessed beyond most.  Please believe me when I say I recognize that and I'm truly grateful.  Sometimes if feels like the devil's attacks are working.  Sometimes it feels like I can't control my greed as soon as I get rid of one thought, the next pops right into my head.  To be perfectly honest, I'm jealous of two types of people. The ones that are content with what they have and the ones who have more.  I strive to be happy where I am and sometimes I win the battle and sometimes I slip up.  In our society, it is hard to NOT notice all the marketing in all of the media telling us we aren't "good enough" if we don't buy their product. 

I believe we must have faith that GOD is enough, not the things we have or wish we had.  Just God.  If we had nothing else, just Him, we need to remember that's all we need.  He will get us through the hard stuff, trust me, I've seen it happen. 

I read a blog recently that made me look at my wants in a new horrific light.  In this world, there is so much need.  Not wants, but true needs.  For food, clean water, shelter, the basics.  Here's the amazing part, some of those people are praying not for their children to grow up and become wealthy and successful but for them to love the Lord.  Thats it, thats how they know they will be okay in this world, if their children just have faith in God the know they will turn out alright.  How amazing.  They get it.

It all comes down to perspective.  We must realize that our collection of stuff does not matter.  How we love God and show our love to ourselves and others is what keeps us on the right path.  Not the new thing we think will make us "okay".  I believe the shiney new things can sometimes block my view of God.  I get so caught up in the wants that I forget my most basic need is Him.  So today I trust in Him.  To meet ALL of my needs, and He will give me the desires of my heart.

Psalm 37:3-4.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart

Today I organize...really, this time I mean it!

Today I organize, there I said it out loud.  I'm going to be a more organized person. I WILL be able to find things right when I need them, I WILL be able to remember important dates, and yes I WILL even be able to make my life more efficient.  I struggle for years with remembering birthdays, checking off ALL items on my to do list and I admit it, keeping my home office under control.  I will be honest with you, it is not about laziness.  I, by nature am not a lazy person.  It is more about dedicating time to it.  In this past week, I have held a garage sale (which netted me $45, really?!?!!)  I worked at my day job at least 40 hours, managed to prepare meals and clean up the dinner dishes for seven days straight, given my two year old a bath nightly, supported and helped coordinate my husband in his endeavors, grocery shopped, worked on potty training, laundry, cleaned a bathroom or three, held a bible study, made homemade marshmallows and made it into the office two days this week.  To be honest, that's just the stuff I remember.  Here's the problem.  If you look around my house, you would think I watched soap operas and ate bon bons.

God is leading me to big things, but I must be faithful in the little first.  There are so many opportunities I have to be there for family and friends.  To show so many people God's love, but you know what?  I am not organized enough to make it happen.  I miss opportunities simply because I run from one thing to the next.  Without purpose.  I want to live on purpose.  I want to know that everything I'm doing is being done for God and with His plans in mind.  Even when I'm scrubbing the toilet.  So to that end, I'm off to the shower.  Intentionally going into the office for the Lord.

Finding God in the Middle of the Summer

I said I would write…I never said how often (I say with a sly smile on my face). 

We have had a wonderful whirlwind summer so far.  If summer were to end tonight and tomorrow would be fall, I would still say we lived it to the full. 

So here I sit, trying to get back into my words.  Words make me feel like I’m home, whether it’s writing or reading, its comfort to me.  We have already been so busy that it is nice to have the feeling of home, both literally and figuratively. 

Thats the beauty of faith.  Our God is everywhere in our lives.  He was in the airport sharing in my daughter’s excitement at seeing the airplanes.  He was at the water park while my husband and I cruised around the lazy river.  He was definitely at our church’s Vacation Bible School this past week.  I’m thankful for all the ways that our God shows us He’s with us even when life isn’t rolling at a normal pace. 

Just because our routines have changed around and we feel so disconnected from our “normal” lives, doesn’t mean we can’t feel God’s presence in everything we do.  I try to remember to keep my constant communication lines open with Him and I am amazed at the miracles that I’ve been able to document so far this summer.  We must remember that God is in the little things like a cup of coffee in the quiet as the sun comes up, the lapping sound of water after a long day at the beach or the smell of a bonfire on a Saturday night.  Our God enjoys all of those things just as much as we do. 

Remember to thank Him for all your moments, even the ones where your ice cream melts.  (PS – the answer is you HAVE ice cream!) 

Faithful When It's Hard

I had the honor recently to be a part of the planning committee for a close friend's baby shower.  It reminded me of how thankful I am for so much.  We had a lovely time.  Everything fell into place perfectly.  The food was awesome, setting up was a breeze, the guests were gracious and the mama to be was just glowing and beautiful.  It was truly a memorable occasion.  All babies are miracles.  In this particular case, we had been praying for this couple for a very long time and having a baby was a struggle for many years.  It always astounds me how God works and answers prayer.  He always promises to be faithful to us.  We just have to be faithful to Him.  Remember the story of Solomon.  He had so much going for him; he had the Lord's blessing from his father, King David.  He was known around the world for his wisdom and great wealth.  Yet he failed to remember to continuously be grateful and faithful to his Lord, our God.  He loses it all.  When you are going through a tough time, it is so hard to praise God and remember that He loves you.

I have said often, "God has a plan." and quote my favorite verse "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  He didn't just say this to some people; He said this for ALL of us.  We all have a special plan for our hearts.  I'm still hoping one day mine will include standing on a stage in front of tens of thousands singing my heart out but we already talked about that. 

So when we are going through things we don’t understand, God is with us.  He loves us and wants us to be happy.  We live in a world of sin, and bad things happen to good people. However, God has a plan to give us hope.  Remember He already won the war.  We need to act as though we are already living in victory.  It was hard to understand that God’s plan will prevail and not know whether that included a baby for her and her husband.  Faith allowed us to do our best to comfort her; prayer and constant submission to God’s will helped her and her husband to get pregnant with our sweet baby who we will meet any day.  When things do not go as planned, you must remember that whatever happens, God’s plan is better than any concoction we could come up with on our own and we will ultimately be happier and more faithful with His plan.  Have faith and trust that God will pull you through no matter what your situation is.  Know that God has already won; that sin is defeated even when you are going through it.  We read the end of the book first…the good guys win!  Have faith, your season will change and God will show you so much more than you ever prayed for!