New Year, New Beginnings

Hey Friends,

After a long absence, I'm going to give another go at posting. With the new year approaching I couldn't help think - what a great time to start over - with lots of things. I don't know about you but the turn of the calendar always gets me thinking. A LOT!! So I'll take the next little while to share some of those thoughts here.

Here's what's currently rolling around in my brain. I came across these 5 statements in the book by Andy Stanley - The Best Question Ever. Here they are. Ponder...Consider...Evaluate....

Maybe this will be the start of some intentional thinking about 2012.

1. There is cumulative value in investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period.

2. There are rarely any immediate consequences for neglecting single installments of time in any arena of life.

3. Neglect has a cumulative affect.

4. There is no cumulative value to the urgent things that we allow to interfere with the important things.

5. In the ciritical arenas of life, you cannot make up for lost time.

Scripture Chirp

Ps. 119:165
"ABUNDANT peace belong to those who love Your instruction; nothing makes them stumble."

Do you want stability and sure footing for your life? Here's the Rx. Find out what God is instructing you on and then pursue loving it - however confusing, difficult or unlikely it may seem.

Relationship Advice

I'm for sure no expert on relationships but I like this quote by Barbara Johnson on the importance of unconditional love.

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." - Barbara Johnson

Some valuable guidelines for relationships

1. Support the person when you can't support their behavior.

2. Settle accounts immediately - time is the great enemy of reconciliation and restoration

3. Adopt forgiveness when reconciliation is not possible

4. The Bible says that love covers a multitude of sins. Integrate that.

Friends, parents, children, siblings, relatives......need love the most when they deserve it the least.

Bite Size Brain Snack

If you believe in yourself, have dedication and pride and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards. - Paul "Bear" Bryant

This is a great quote from a famous coach - one that my son-in-law admires very much. It's true to the point that it takes an amount of confidence in yourself to be able to make substantial changes in your life. The older you get the harder it is. I know some folks who have done it. I've watched them turn around and go in a completely different direction after years of established habits and patterns.

I would like to add, however, that those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, have the advantage of drawing on His very power, even when they are desperately weak, to continue to integrate those changes into their body (new ways of acting), their mind (it all starts with new thoughts) and their spirit (where the lasting motivation lives).

For You are my hope, Lord GOD , my confidence from my youth.
Psalm 71:4-6

She's Here!!

My heart is smitten, overtaken, striken, slayed, overwhelmed, undone....

Here's why -

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.639772509128.2138852.52707831

Bite Size Brain Snack

When you pray, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without heart.

From Bridesmaids to Babies

I know this is the natural progression of life - first you have weddings and then come the babies. I was thinking the other day about my mom. She had four children in a little over five years. That's just hard. It's hard when their babies, hard when their toddlers, hard when their all in school, hard when their teenagers!, and hard when they all grow up. I think there was one year when she had a graduation, a wedding, and a baby all in a 3 month span. Totally doable but that would rattle anybody's cage.

We had Jill's wedding in early May, 2010 and Lori's was in late 2008. It seemed like we lived and breathed in conversations that involved dresses and receptions and flowers. I loved every minute of it. It's so much fun to watch your daughter dream and plan a day that's all about her and man she loves. With very few exceptions we enjoyed every moment....there have to be a few tense moments - really!

And now we have transitioned, at least for the moment, into babyland. Lori and Ethan are having their first baby in a few weeks and Jill is talking about babies. It's what comes naturally but my feelings have caught me off guard. It's not hard to be excited, and I have been, but I'm such an experiential learner, that for a time my full blown enjoyment was still yet to come. Is that weird?

All that changed when the calendar flipped to May. It's here!!! The month our little grand girl will be here (unless she's dreadfully late). The nursery is ready. Mom and Dad are ready. Me and Papa are so ready!!!! Some days it feels like my heart is going to explode. I honestly don't ever remember feeling like this.

So much to come! And now we're counting days and not months or weeks. Yippee!!!