The profoundly simply truths (for me) of 2014...

I'm sitting here half thinking and half trying to rest my mind (and body) for Watch Night Service and I just keep turning over the things that seem to have been the most profound for me this year.  It's simple in that I am blessed beyond measure and have many things upon which to reflect.  However, it gets complicated because of how simple the lessons have been.  I mean...I want to be deep and profound, right?  Surely on the last day of the year 2014 I can muster up some words of distinction and offer an exegesis of epic "last day of the year" proportions.  Well, it occurs to me that the beauty in the year for me has been in its simple messages of grace, favor, acceptance, understanding, wisdom and love.  So, in list form, I offer this:

10. I am good enough and more than enough  (to be in a top 20 television news market; have a platform from which to speak to women about faith, family, the arts, self worth and purpose);raise a daughter and be a wife and do them well; to have true friends who love me and accept me and support me in spite of me).  I'm inspired by the greatness of the people in my life....even acquaintances....It's all around me and it's in me.  I'm more than enough.

9.   I  have what I need to reach my destiny and fulfill my purpose; it's in me because of whose I am.

8.   I am beautiful in my present weight with my present flaws 

7.   The grade on the paper or the measuring stick may be necessary but they don't dictate or validate the job I do, how well I do it,  or the amount of myself I give each day.  I determine that regardless of the measuring stick.  I show up and give the best I have...no matter what.

6.   The older I get, the harder it is to make new friends, the more important it becomes to keep the old ones...and the more I realize that it's ok and I'll be ok if the list dwindles for one reason or another.

5.   Each year I'm reminded of the truth of my mother's saying....Every Closed Eye Ain't Sleep, and Every Good Bye Ain't Gone; the wisdom of a woman who knew that things are not always as they seem or as we believe them to be....(NOW THINK ON THAT FOR A MINUTE :O)

4.  When Grace tells me she loves me....I should (and do) say it back ...with our added endearment of "with all of me until eternity...with all my heart". 

3. It's hard being a good wife (and mother) and even harder to be a Godly wife.  But I refer to number 10 because my husband believes it, too, and encourages me by saying "I'm perfect for him".  Mostly, though, I try to keep my eye on God.

2.  Faith and family (and friends who are family) really are the most important.  

1. God loves me unconditionally and because of that love, I will fulfill the purpose which he has placed in me.  I matter to God ,and I am Who He Says I Am. 


May His blessings be upon you as you enter the New Year and each day thereafter.

EXPECT MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER THINK OR IMAGINE!

  

It's about God's love for us and our love for one another...

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Luke 2:11

Happy Holidays...Jesus is the reason for the season...Merry ChristmaHanukkwanzaa...It all comes back to love; God's love for us and our love for one another.
I had a Jewish Rabbi on Thursday's noon news last week to talk about Hanukkah and what it means to the Jewish faith.  I shared with him that my 4 year old drew a picture of a Menorah in class and that afternoon, when I picked her up, she asked me if we celebrated Hanukkah.  I told her no; that people of the Jewish faith did and that their beliefs were different from ours.  I ended that conversation by saying, "but God created us all and even though we have different beliefs, we should still love our Jewish friends. " It's about love.
I've been teaching the Purpose Driven Life as a Sunday School class at my church, New Dimensions Ministries.  The first thing Rick Warren points out, in the book, is the fact that "it's not about me".  The premise is that in order to find our purpose and live a life of purpose, we have to truly get that it's not about us; it's about God.  Realizing what we were created to do and be and finding our purpose depends on us believing and living as if it's not about us.  The second thing that we're to get is that God loves us. 
I bring that up because the idea that "it's not about us" gets lost so easily during this holiday season of gift buying/giving, party hosting/attending, vacations, family gatherings; new year planning, etc.  We forget that it's about God and the birth of his son Jesus.  The rest is nice and fun and special, and at this point, difficult to get away from.  But, what I want Grace to know about Christmas is that we celebrate the birth of Jesus because God loved us enough to give us a Savior.
She has a speech for our Christmas eve service this Wednesday, and it's so appropriate for this moment:

We're bringing Christmas lights
To shine both far and near
To take away the darness
And bring happiness and cheer

I believe that light is Jesus.  I believe it shines in us.  I believe we are called to spread that light to those walking in darkness.
It's not about us; it's about God and the love he has for us!

EXPECT MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER THINK OR IMAGINE!