Soap Bubbles & Carrots

This has been germinating for a little while in my head and I will try to keep it concise, but no promises! The title stems from a radio pastor I heard the other day talking about the way people try to occupy their lives.

Lots of people exist with an empty feeling inside. It goes along being a dull sensation or it can be a completely overwhelming sensation. As such many of us attempt to fill that emptiness with all manner of things or actions to assuage it. Hence the "soap bubbles" in the title of this post. The pastor compared it to having a child who loves blowing bubbles; Getting a bottle of bubbles is THE coolest thing for some kids. Imagine it - the new bottle with the colorful label gets opened, the wand comes out with that first dip of soap dripping off it, the child is going "bubbles! bubbles! bubbles!" then blows all the shiny bubbles into the air and starts chasing them! They chase and chase to catch the bubbles then catch them and... they POP! So what happens? "More bubbles! More bubbles! More bubbles!" The joy of the bubbles is so fleeting...

Been there...

Same thing with the old carrot on a stick - we chase and chase and chase and FINALLY catch the carrot and... then what?

Been there too.

Only one thing gets that emptiness filled. A growing relationship with God. Jesus showed up and was sacrificed for our sins in order for us to have the opportunity to fill that void in the only way we truly can- by worshiping and glorifying him. Many of the people I have recently had the good fortune to be surrounded by understand this clearly and have both communicated and role-modeled it. I have been positively impacted in so many ways by them. I can truly say that I understand more on a daily basis how God's grace works. Know what? It's pretty awesome!

Now, realistically, I am in a very new stage of my Christian journey, but that's ok because I can rest assured in the knowledge that it gets better and more ful(filling) all the time. God's right there making things happen.

This entire process appeals to two basic things I love, acquisition of wisdom and growth of faith, both of which I always want more of.

I have a few thoughts on DABDA, the grief process, also, but that's for another post.


Thanks for listening!

It Takes A Village....

A truly powerful service today that wrapped up the "Get it, Got it, Good" series with the church members signing a covenant with the church. I was moved by the expression of faith of the members, the desire to be a part of the membership and the fear that I might never be worthy to do so. I know that God continues to work in my life and his plan will come to fruition in his time; I am also hopeful that, as my "work-in-progress" life continues to unfold and I continue to work on living with integrity, I will be able to become a member of the church and participate in a ministry. I adamantly believe that a servant mindset is what helps to make a church tick and NHC has that type of mindset.

Tough week for Chris. She is fighting to find balance with her health, life and desires - Lupus seems to have won a couple rounds recently and I , being the introspective sort, always look inward to see how I might be doing things differently in order to improve the overall situation. I keep bumping into my attitudes and feelings when I try to move toward logic.

We are gaining traction in working to balance Maddie's life. She is getting out of the house more and involved with other kids and I am looking into Tae Kwan Do classes for her to take, thinking that it could help her maturity and confidence.

Jackson will be 2 on Friday! What a blessing to have him around.

I plan to work on getting more into bible study, maybe with Jim if he has time, to continue the growth process in my Christian walk. I'm ready to dig in a little more.

If anyone reads this beside me, please pray for Chris and her health, and Maddie and her studies since she is struggling in math.

Week in Review

It's been a pretty good week with some real victories:
* Chris was able to get out for some family activity time on both of my days off - we went to the Ice Haus and had a great time.
* It was a solid connection group meeting this time around with very good discussion
* Work continues to go well even though the winds of change are blowing regarding management movement.
* I almost (almost) got on a bike!
*"Trouble" the prodigal kitty showed back up after going missing for a month.

The process of changing some habits has begun and I'm excited at the prospects!

Second Chance

I woke at 5AM today, switched on the tube and found a movie called "Second Chance". The plot revolves around an inner-city church sponsored by a big suburban church and, basically, the cultural divide between the two and how it was bridged by the pastors of the churches. I found it to be a believable story with solid messaging.

Seeing this movie reminds me of the kindness and friendship we have received recently from our church family. We (my family) really don't get the concept of giving and receiving. We try not to be a burden on anyone so we never ask for help when we need it, although that mentality is changing ( think trying to do a u-turn in an ocean liner). The other thing is to know that we have things to offer others even though we can't see it.

I have definitely seen an increase in my own prayer life, and I am excited to continue growing in God. I have an important mission in my family to cultivate ALL of us in our spiritual growth. Ironically, the only way I can really do that is to reach out to my peer group for guidance, which is my weakest suit. Ironic? or divine planning? It's a God thing, as a friend of mine has said.

Fast Note

This a quick note - I have a busy few days going on, but I wanted to post that I am simply amazed at the way that God's grace is manifesting itself all around me. It's like opening a stuck faucet - what had been only a trickle suddenly turns into a waterfall. I am working hard to sponge up all the learnings from what I am experiencing. I am grateful for this growth opportunity!

Things always look different when...

As I watch the medical trials concerning Tricia Lawrenson unfold via Rick and Nathan's blogs, I am reminded of the blessings God has given us in our own trials. I can empathize with the fear and concern Nathan has and working to simply deal with this one step at a time as he walks in his faith. He and Tricia are diligently communicating their situation and needs and also taking the time to request specific prayer. They may not realize it but they are providing a real life example of faith in extreme circumstances for many people who possibly have never experienced anything of the sort. I thank them for the opportunity and hope that our simple prayers are helping!

Stepping Out

It seems that, when things are looking confusing and unsure, God steps in and reminds us that he's here and counting on our faith in him to persevere. He has blessed us greatly recently and in ways that seemed like they pulled us away from the lion's mouth just in time. We have found new friendships, finances have held, gifts we weren't even thinking about arrived. My part of the bargain is to be a good steward of the things I receive and give God what is his.

Faith can work wonders if we let it...

Circus Circus

Ever see one of the cartoons with a guy juggling a sword, and a couple of balls, and a flaming torch, and a wingback chair, and an elephant? Oh, and spinning plates are balanced on a stick on one foot while he stands on the other one? Oh yeah, and he's blindfolded. That ought to cover how the past few days have gone. If I relax I'm gonna fall out!:)