BIG plans, Masterpieces, and what Pastor Dave taught me...

I have the privilege this morning of speaking to a women’s ministry group. The monthly time together is called Mingling with Masterpieces.

Familiar images come to mind when you hear the word masterpiece: Mona Lisa, statue of David, Handel’s Messiah…all worthy of the term for sure.

But consider this: 108 billion people have been born on this earth. Billion. With a B. And the strand of DNA that wires each person has never been duplicated.

In the entire course of history, no one ever has been or ever will be just like me…or just like you.

Masterpiece? I think so!

And consider this:

Psalm 139: 13-16

You created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

This is King David praising God because He sees us and wires us and puts us together before our face is ever seen on the earth.

And He has done it 108 billion times.

 But here is something more amazing:

Jeremiah 29:11 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.

There are promises in the Bible that are for “God’s people”…salvation through faith in Christ, a new heart and new spirit, a place in the family of God

But these two verses speak to the special place each of us has as an individual.

Think about it, my friend. There is a plan made specifically for you…only you.

This is precisely why I am passionate about helping people THINK BIG and focus small.

When you ask a group of first graders what plans they have, you will hear completely uninhibited answers…some off the wall plans, some BIG plans.

We lose that as adults, don’t we? We settle, we get into an adult routine…or we learn that BIG plans can either be a BIG DEAL or a BIG DISASTER, and we are afraid to risk the latter for a chance at the former.

Have you been there? Has it ever occurred to you that what you are doing day in, day out is not especially satisfying?

If that is the case, I would humbly suggest it might be time to THINK BIG and focus small on God’s plan and the place it has in your agenda.

Why? Because God has BIG plans…and you will never be satisfied in life until you know your purpose and the plan God has for you.

Okay, Beth, what does that mean?

It means God has a plan meant to fulfill you because it was uniquely created for you.

It means God’s plan may be bigger than your plan, and you won’t see that until you expand your vision.

Folks, God did not create a unique DNA strand just for you so you could drag through life being mediocre and unhappy!

Understand this: each of us needs to find out purpose and work our purpose in order to be our best selves…not just for our own sake, but for the sake of the people we love, the people we can touch and for the Kingdom of God.

I think we downplay the words of Jesus sometimes.

Matthew 5:14 from the Message

You’re here to be light... God is not a secret to be kept. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

He wasn’t talking about people we might think of as spiritual giants. No - your soul was created to burn brightly and shine as much as anyone else!

And how about this…

John 14:12

The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things.

Jesus wasn’t kidding. God has BIG plans. We need to THINK BIG.

Folks, God BELIEVES in YOU. He does! When you understand how much God believes in you AND you learn to believe in yourself, BIG things can happen.

So then you might ask, “How do I start to think BIG?”

Have you seen the magnet/shirt/wall plaque that says, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”

That is exactly where you start. What makes you itch? What gets your blood pumping? What makes you forget how many hours have gone by? How do you REALLY enjoy spending your time? And wouldn’t you love to do more of that?

Sometimes when I talk to people about this, they question the validity of doing what they love as a vocation. 

That is a complex subject for another day…but I know this for sure:

God put passions and desires and gifts in every one of us. We have an obligation to use those gifts, to find our purpose and work it.

How, you ask, will you know?

You can do a spiritual gifts analysis. You can talk to people who know you well.

I did that. More than once. But the door was closed because part of me didn’t believe it.

I didn’t believe Jeremiah 29:11 was for me.                                                                   I thought I had missed too many chances.                                                                   

I thought I wasn’t special enough or good enough.                                                      

I thought I had too many problems.

How about you? Have you ever believed any of those lies?

I spent a lot of years thinking small, living small. It didn’t serve me or anyone around me. It certainly didn’t serve God.

I am not dismissing the value of spiritual gift surveys, but I believe this to be true -when you get real with God, and allow Him to get real with you, the plan will come alive, your passions will show themselves…and if you are like me, you will find you have known all along what they were.

In addition to wanting to be the first female in Major League Baseball, I always always always wanted to be a teacher and speaker.

TRUE STORY:

I was 11 years old, outside throwing a tennis ball off the cement block building behind our house. A friend appeared from around the corner of the building with a puzzled look on her face. She heard me talking and was surprised to find me alone. Who was I talking to?

With complete honesty, I told her I was practicing being interviewed because some day people would want to hear what I have to say.

She looked at me like I was crazy and walked – or maybe ran - away.

But I believed it! I was a young kid with who could THINK BIG…until the world interfered and convinced me that I wasn’t special.

I spent close to thirty years wandering in that wilderness of believing what the world said about me. Praise God for my beloved friend David Panther and a circle of wonderful friends who walked with me, encouraged me, modeled for me.

And look…I have come back to the place where I listen more to God than to the world – and my passions are still the same.

I am a writer and teacher and speaker…just like I practiced being so long ago.

Please understand that the plan God has for you may or may not be something that affects your vocation. I am not suggesting you quit your job on Monday.

But that is what Patty Stonesifer did. She was a Senior VP at MicroSoft, then the CEO of the Gates Foundation. She left at the end of 2008 to pursue her passions. She served on the board of the Gavi Fund, which helps to provide vaccines to developing countries. She has also served on the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Aids.

Patty Stonesifer is currently the CEO of Martha’s Table, a non-profit corporation in Washington, DC that develops sustainable solutions to poverty. She believed there was something more – even though she worked for a philanthropic giant – she saw a different purpose. So she quit and followed her heart.

I hear you…Patty Stonsifer had millions of dollars – of course she could do whatever she wanted.

Cheryl Krueger didn’t have millions of dollars. She started a bakery – one bakery in Columbus, OH - with her college roommate.  One bakery that, in seven years, became Cheryl & Co. And she became a multi-millionaire.

Mother Theresa won the Nobel Prize because she was so passionate about helping the poorest of the poor. She wasn’t a millionaire – but her foundation has helped millions of people.

We need to THINK BIG.

That doesn’t mean we all be public figures or our plan will take us all over the world. It means that, in God’s economy, every piece is important.

The body has 206 bones. Do you know what the smallest one is? The stirrup. It is the size of a grain of rice. Consider this: The footplate of the stirrup bone is attached to a membrane called the oval window, which leads to the inner ear. It is connected to two other very small bones called the hammer and the anvil. All three of these bones are joined to the eardrum, where sound is collected before it is sent in the form of nerve signals to the brain.

The ear is a very important organ for keeping our sense of balance. Without a sense of balance, we could not hold our body steady, and we would stagger and fall when we tried to move.

The smallest bone in the body is largely responsible for our hearing AND balance. That is kind of a big deal to me. How about you?

But, you ask, what if I THINK BIG and I don’t know what to do next?

Believe this: energy creates and attracts energy. People are drawn to high energy.  When you step into God’s BIG plan, He will line up folks to help and support you!

Okay Beth, I can THINK BIG…now what? How do I focus small? Again, a complex subject, but here is an overview…

Understand that there probably will not be a huge spotlights pointing the way. God wants to reveal His plan, but He will do it in pieces. 

We need to spend time with Him, talk to Him, read His Word. As you do this, you will find that doors open and doors close, and the plan will start to show itself.

Take a look at your life and ask yourself if you are more often purposeful or reactionary? Are you and God deciding your course each day, or do you flap in the wind of other people’s needs or demands?

Drill down and take a good look at how you spend your time? If we budget our money, shouldn’t we also budget our time?

Obviously there are commitments we have to honor. I am not suggesting you abandon those duties.

As women, we often have trouble saying NO. Would you agree? So your child’s PTO group needs a treasurer, and the Little League concession stand needs a volunteer, and how can you say NO to helping raise money to find a cure for cancer…WHO doesn’t want THAT???

And here is what happens…you do the things you must to care for your family, then you do the things you accepted because you couldn’t say NO….and Monday becomes Saturday over and over.

We each have tasks that must be done daily. God never wants us to be out of balance in any direction.

BUT…but...but...

HEAR THIS: when you do things that are not part of YOUR purpose, that don’t feed you, that suck energy, you are not just cheating yourself!

I don’t know about you, but I get grumpy when I have to fulfill duties I accepted out of some false sense of obligation.

Who is served by that? Not God. Not your spouse or your kids, especially when it occurs to you that you haven’t had a real conversation with any of them for days…or weeks.

Who is served by you doing things that illicit absolutely no passion from you?

No one. Exactly no one.

And here is the incredibly freeing part…when you understand how much God believes in you, when you embrace Jeremiah 29:11 and seek God for that purpose daily, you are free from the need for approval from everyone who crosses your path…you are FREE from the need to “convince” people.

Joyce Meyer talks about this…she says she is anointed to bring God’s Word to people. That is her gift. For years she tried to be like the other ladies of the church…canning vegetables, sewing, working in the nursery…and she was miserable because all of those things – which she disliked – took time away from preparing and speaking to groups. So she stopped doing all those other things.She stopped when she was speaking to 25 people at a weekly Bible study. She stopped BEFORE she had a BIG ministry.

Do you get it? I sure do!

When you find and work your purpose, you will be MUCH happier, kinder, more loving. You will. I know because I am!

Imagine you and your spouse/best friend/partner talking enthusiastically about your day instead of bitching about how horrible work was. 

Imagine having meetings that pump your blood, instead of being part of a group to which you feel obliged because the other mothers do it, but you go home weary and drained and then there is laundry and lunches and now that you have complained for so long it is time to sleep so you can do it all again tomorrow.

Imagine how that might feel! Imagine how God could be glorified by that!

One of my favorite sayings is, “You can go to the ocean with an eye dropper or you can go with a bucket. The ocean has plenty and will fill whatever you bring.”

Folks, God has a very specific plan for each of us. It is a GOOD plan.

We need to THINK BIG so we can join hands with God.

We need to focus small so those plans don’t get pushed aside by laundry/cleaning/grocery/meals/work/kids/rinseandrepeat.

Listen again:

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.

May God bless each of us as we seek Him.

AMEN!

Roller coasters, distant thunder...and what I can control

My favorite way to write is outside in the sun with a tablet and pencil in hand. The current forecast is “widespread thunderstorms” and while I see sun, there is distant thunder. It feels all too familiar.

Times have been tough lately in the place I live…my home and my head. It looks sunny, but in the background there is rumbling.

If you have been tracking with me for any time, you are aware of a financial struggle due to my being the plaintiff in litigation. It has been a long walk through judgment/appeal/judgment/extension/ad nauseum.

I love amusement park roller coasters…this roller coaster, not so much.

Even on days when it doesn’t dominate my thinking (there have been a few),even when I am doing two jobs I love – teaching and writing- there is the rumbling of the toll three years of financial/judicial turmoil has taken.

You probably understand. Maybe it hasn’t been litigation. But there is something that has whipped you up and down, through a corkscrew, upside down at 65 mph.

Sometimes I can, for the most part, ignore the rumbling.

Other times it is loud, gets in my head and bounces around like a pinball until I can’t control the flappers anymore and just give up for the moment or the day.

 

Do you understand?

A new Senior Pastor has been chosen for my church. Eric Park is respected by colleagues, loved by former parishioners. Eric and his wife Tara are gifted musicians who donate all money from CD sales to overseas ministries. Eric is, by all accounts, a dynamic leader who is devoted to sharing the Savior he loves with a hurting world.  We are blessed to join in ministry with Eric and Tara.

But there is rumbling. Certainly the Bishop hears it. Perhaps the Parks hear as well.

It isn’t personal.

We simply don’t want a new Senior Pastor.  

You see, we prayed and believed for a miracle healing. We were certain the cancer would disappear and our beloved one would return to full health. He fought hard, we prayed diligently.

Surely God would reward us with a miracle.

On May 26, a miracle happened. The Rev Dr. J. David Panther met Jesus and received the crown of eternal life.

It was not the miracle we requested. A rumbling began…and continues.

Sometimes it is a distant, annoying reminder. Other times, it is directly overhead…rolling, pounding, causing terrifying lightning and buckets of tears. The rumbling says we should give up because our ministry is over. It says we did not pray correctly or often enough. It says our congregation will dwindle and we will have no control over things of this world.

It is partially right.

Do you understand?

Have you prayed and believed and done all you know how to do, only to have the situation turn out to be exactly the opposite?

Have you heard the rumbling that says you have failed, that mocks you for trying, that says you should give up and that you have no control over what happens in life?

Everything the rumbling says to me, to you, to a church congregation is wrong, is a lie straight from hell, except this one thing:

We have almost no control.

Read it again…We have almost no control.

How many times have you taken this test?

Yeah, me too.

How many times have you thought you finally passed?

Yeah, me too.

From my first breath until the day I meet Jesus, I truly have control over only one thing in this entire world.

Same for you.

I get to choose how I respond to a financial roller coaster, to circumstances I wouldn’t choose but can’t avoid, to a friend’s death, to an amazing pastor gone too soon.

I get to choose.

Certainly, there are times when the rumbling is part of a storm presenting imminent danger.

More often, however, it is a distraction that can cause unfounded fear and a desire to hide from life.

I know the difference. So do you.

I know what to do when lightning, thunder, and rain are on top of me. I know where to take shelter, how to protect myself and my loved ones.

But the distant rumbling is insidious. It draws my attention from the tasks at hand, sprinkling doubt, creating conflict, making problems seem much bigger than necessary.  It will do that every time I pay attention, for as long as I allow.

But I get to choose.

So do you.

Some days are harder than others…one hour, one rumbling at a time.

Maybe we can help each other…will you join me?

We will talk again soon.

BP J

Storms, Jana and Tori, and what I forget...

I don’t generally stand outside staring at the sky. But last night I did. Thunderstorms had already brought flooding south of my town, and they were moving in quickly.

My dear friend Jana recently shared that since her husband passed in May, she dislikes rainy days a great deal. She wants sun and warmth and light.

My Tori doesn’t like storms either, so I bought her a Thundershirt. It arrived yesterday, and while this blog does not endorse dog products, I must say she was significantly calmer with it on.  

I thought about Jana and Tori as I stood watching the clouds move and change shape, listening to the wind. My bare feet were walking on dry grass, but it wouldn’t be that way for long.

Life has been challenging for me lately. How about for you? Are you staring down a difficult challenge? I watched the clouds and noticed how the formations moved, the darkness was in front of me, then at my back. Lightning coming from every direction, then a few moments later, a break in the clouds.

The lower clouds were dark and shifting, but the upper level clouds remained the same. Much lighter, puffier, less menacing.

I watched for several minutes, thinking about how life mimics weather patterns. Forty miles south of my town, heavy rain was causing flash floods. The winds were very strong in my area, the sky was dark, Tori acted like a big storm was imminent. Then it seemed to pass.

This morning the sun came up right on time. There are branches in my yard, and I watch reports of flood damage, but the day was pleasant and seemed to belie the forecast of storms returning.  

Alas, they are back – stronger than last night. More rain, fierce lightning, thunder that seems to be right on top of us.

Life is like that sometimes, isn’t it? I watch things shift, see great darkness then patches of light, feel the wind and, like Tori, get scared of what seems to be coming.

The storm starts and I wish I had a Thundershirt.  The atmosphere changes in what seems like a very negative way. I can't predict or control when it will start and stop, or how fierce it will be. Suddenly I am consumed with trepidation and I forget so much of what I know.

How about you? When you are standing against a crashing wave of pain or sadness, when it feels like you are on sand that is shifting so fast you can’t keep your balance, when the rain comes hard in your face, do you sometimes forget you have lived through storms before?

I forget that, as bad as the thunder and lightning is, it doesn’t last forever.

I forget that rain serves a purpose, even when it is inconvenient or unwanted.

I forget that, even if I stand in the yard through a storm, my odds of being struck by lightning this year are 1 in 700,000.

I have lived through thunderstorms and floods. Some have caused massive amounts of damage, tangible or emotional.  I know “this too shall pass”… but sometimes I forget.

Tori seems to know what to do better than I do. She runs to my side, lets me put on her new shirt, then relaxes. She never forgets where to go in a storm.

I can learn from Tori. I forget that the One I serve and love, the One who loves me, the One who calmed storms while He walked this earth, is always watching, is still in charge, is still able to hold up His hand and make it stop…or hold my hand through it.

I forget that there is always an upper story, a place in the atmosphere that is steady and calm…and still will be, once this lower storm passes.

I forget to run to the safe place. I battle on my own, try to make the rain stop, try to stack sandbags against impending floods…I forget all that does is make me tired and frustrated.

How about you?

Do shake, fret, find yourself overwhelmed?

Or maybe you devise a plan, throw up the barriers, board the windows…do anything necessary to either stop the storm or run from it?

Does it work well? Didn’t think so…

Jana is right – sun, warmth, light are best. I would always choose that.

But we don’t get to pick the weather, do we? Not in our world, not in our life.

All we ever get to choose is how we walk through it, and where we keep our focus.  

I am determined to learn how to stop fussing, stop fighting, stop planning my getaway. I am committed to remembering, and to looking for the One who will either stop the storm or guide me through.

Will you join me?

Let’s talk again soon…right now I have to step outside and look at the rainbow

BP J

Public Works, J David, and the thread I can't see...

I have taken on a part time, temporary job with a local municipality's Public Works department.  I am learning a lot about the inner workings of water pretreatment, park and field maintenance, and other things I never thought about before.

How much do you know about the process of taking waste water from your home to the treatment plant? Not much I'll bet.

How much do you know about the number of man hours it takes to maintain the fields where your children play baseball/football/soccer/lacrosse? Or the disproportionate numbers of hours necessary to open and maintain a swimming pool that operates for 90 days of the year?  Not much I'll bet.

And, if you are like me, you don't really care. Not in a rude way...just a take-it-for-granted way.

Except when the water won't go away or fields are muddy or the pool isn't perfect. THEN we know all about exactly what can and should be done, don't we??

Yeah...no. We still have no idea. Our anger simply fools us.

All of life is like this. We really know so very little, and mostly we are too self-absorbed to care. Until something bad happens.

Beginning in Sept 2010, my friend David - The Rev Dr. J. David Panther - led our church on a nine month journey through the Bible. With an assist from Max Lucado's The Story,  David showed us the wonderful thread that weaves itself from Genesis to Revelation...a thread that consistently shows us the love and care God has for us...a thread that is the Upper Story, God's Story, and His purpose.

We live in the Lower Story.  Lower as in right here on Earth, not Heaven's Story. Lower as in, we often have no idea how things work, nor do we care - as long as we like them.

Then darkness falls. And we demand answers.

Unemployment, addiction, car accident, illness...what is yours? What has happened to you to make you say, "WHY, GOD?"

David is firm and consistent in this message: God never causes a bad thing, and He doesn't like it - but it is the reality of life in this fallen world. And no matter what happens, how much it hurts, how devastated we are, God can lift us out of the mire, clean us from head to toe, and use the negative to make us better.

If we let Him.

David often uses stories to make a point. One sticks in my mind today.  It is the story of a farmer who has a series of events happen. The farmer 's horse runs away. A few days later, the horse returns, bringing a group of young studs with him. The farmer's son breaks a leg training one of the new horses.  The son was unable to go off to war because of the broken leg.

The neighbors are quick to rejoice or mourn, based on their judgment of each event. But to each expression of joy or sorrow, the farmer's response is , "We'll see."

The old farmer understood that we know so little. Our vision is extremely limited. We live in the Lower Story, often not even considering the Upper Story.

One of my favorite David-isms is "This is no surprise to God!"  A master at explaining difficult concepts to stubborn human minds, David has taught me that God has a plan, He knows the end from the beginning, and He will use ALL things to His glory and for my good.

If I let Him.

David  battled lymphoma for over a year.  A determined warrior, he continued to teach about grace and faith.  He was in his office and in services every single time his body would allow it. He smiled through the fight, ministered to others, continued his mission. Jana, his beautiful wife, has been a wonderful example of the healing power of love.

On May 26, my friend David met Jesus.  

We are heart-broken over this loss...for ourselves, for our church, mostly for his beloved family.

It is likely that everyone who knows and has been touched by David has had at least a moment of "WHY?"

He is a man of God who has an amazing gift for preaching and teaching. He can touch everyone - no demographic  is beyond his reach.  He has a heart for the have-nots in our community, and continually challenges us to reach out with God's love. His goal is not adding members, but sharing the Good News. His sermons are lessons in how to apply Biblical wisdom to everyday life.

He is a loving husband, father, son, grandfather, friend, mentor.     

Really God? This man? Right now?

Did You not see all the good he is doing? The changed hearts - some in folks who had never visited a church, some in folks who have sat in the same pew for decades but never had their souls moved? Do You not see how much more he has to do, how many plans he has, how many more people he could reach?

Really God?

There is so much we don't know or understand, isn't there? We want to identify "good" and "bad" - nothing in between, no "we'll see" responses. It makes us feel better, doesn't it?

Yet, even as I type these words I hear David saying , "Hey, kiddo, this is no surprise to God."  I am reminded by David's voice in my head that  in the midst of our grief we must rest in the assurance that God is omnipotent, faithful,  always loving...reminded that while this is not good, God can use it for good...reminded that God knows the plan, and it is a GOOD plan, not for harm.

I hear David reminding me that I don't question the good things, the comfortable ones, the ones I like.  I just accept,  even though I don't understand. I flush water, and drive on roads, and play in the park, never questioning how any of that comes about. But, oh, when something bad happens, I beseech God for an answer I couldn't possibly begin to understand even if He told me.

I hear you, my dear friend. I do. You taught me well. I trust the Upper Story. I trust God's grace and give Him all the Glory.

I know you are restored to perfect health. I know the crown you received is spectacular. I know you have been waiting your whole life to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

I do know...And I praise God for that.

But I miss you...we all miss you. The little smile, the way your voice squeaked sometimes when you were telling a funny story then boomed when you wanted to make a point, your explanation of what the Hebrew text really means in a given passage, your perpetual motion - coffee in hand. I won't ever hear someone say, "This isn't rocket science!" without thinking of you.

We will carry on your work. We will smile. We will love on your family...and always miss you.

Rest well, dear friend. Can't wait to see you again - you can tell me more about the thread I can't see right now and I will finally understand.

xo

Robin Roberts, yard wanderings and our vision...

I had an interesting dream last night. Well, pieces of a dream - you know how that goes. 

Robin Roberts and her lovely sisters, Sally-Ann and Dorothy were at my door, asking if I was ready to go to dinner. I was in work clothes...clearly not ready.

We will come back to this in a bit.

Yesterday I had the luxury of a few hours to work in the yard. Straightened landscape edging, made spot repairs to the grass, dug weeds, cleaned a couple flower beds - normal "spring" things. Also requires little thought, which allows great praying and mind-wandering time.

This is the 13th spring we have been in this house. I looked around the yard and the neighborhood and thought about how much has changed.

Changed about the yard? Sure. I had a vision for the landscaping when we moved in. In many ways, I have worked that plan. Then changed it.

Changed about the neighborhood? A bit. Some new neighbors. Kids grown.  

Changes about life? Absolutely. Many changes.

How about you? Lots of changes in the last 13 years?

I walked through my yard and laughed some tears thinking about how silly we are when we believe anything about this life is in our control.  Even when we have good plans. Even when what happens is good.

Thirteen years ago, I developed a picture of my yard in my head. As I set it in motion, some of the plants either didn't work where I planted them, or didn't look the way I envisioned. So I changed the plan. Moved flowers, dug new beds, moved flowers again. Plan B then C then...I think I am on Plan F now.

That is what we do, if we are going to be happy and healthy...we change the plan.

In the past 13 years, people have left my life. Some to be with Jesus. Some just because.

I have many new people I cherish so deeply. People I didn't know existed in 2000. And now I love them dearly.

I started a job, ended that job and started a new career path.

Was rescued by a dog who owns my heart.

Been through very dark times...a very good times.

And none of it could have been imagined 13 years ago.

The most predictable thing about life is that it is completely unpredictable.  We want certain things to change and they don't. We want other things to stay the same and they don't. We want out days to go according to schedule and they don't.

We think we always know what is favorable and what isn't...and we don't.

Do you understand...or is it just me?

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”  Robert Frost

TRUTH right there.

Life rarely turns out the way we imagined - daily, weekly, yearly.

Even when we execute well-made plans, even when our dreams come true, it doesn't look exactly as we imagined.

But it goes on.

Ask Robin Roberts about a vision changing. In 2004, her bright star was on the rise at ABC, after 15 years at ESPN.  Since then, she has lost both of her beloved parents, helped her family and her home state of Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina, survived breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndromes AND shared her journey with her television audience. But through it all, the Good Morning America team has overtaken the number one spot on morning  television.

More importantly, Robin has continued to love her God, to embrace life, to LIVE life.

Robin Roberts set out to be a sportscaster. Now she is a role model, an inspiration to so many and was recently named the Most Trusted Person on Television by Reader's Digest.

Could she see any of that coming? Unlikely.

No matter what, Robin goes on.

We all do. The question is, how well? How joyfully? How purposefully? How lovingly?

We have the choice - every day, every hour.  Bitter or better? Joyful or miserable? Loving or nasty?

Sure, life hurts. Of course it does. But it hurts for everyone. Hardships are no respecters of anyone.  

And it doesn't turn out the way we planned.

So what are you going to do? Pout? Be less than you can be? Wallow under the hurt?

Or go on?

Back to my dream ...I have been blessed to have occasional email contact and a brief meeting with Robin and  email with Sally-Ann.  Both are incredibly genuine. The woman you see on GMA each morning is the same Robin her friends and neighbors see - kind, caring, the real deal.

In my mind... no, in my PLANS this dream becomes reality. Robin, her sisters and I WILL have dinner.

Maybe it will look like I imagine. Robin or Sally-Ann or Dorothea will read this blog and laugh and say, Dinner it is!!

Or maybe it won't look the same. Maybe they won't come to my house. Maybe we will happen to choose the same restaurant when I am in New York next. Maybe we will run into each other in a grocery store on the Upper West Side...or on the pier while she walks KJ.

In any case, I am going to hold it in my heart and picture it in my mind...just like I do other plans I have.

Plans are certainly necessary.  I work toward my plans. I pray. I believe.

And I understand that my God, who knows all and sees the beginning and the end, has the best plans.

Everything, everything, EVERY.THING. can work together for my good...if I allow it...if I trust...if I can let go.

Will you join me?

Very few things about life will look the way you imagine.

Really. It's true.

Accept that and live. LIVE. OUT LOUD. JOYFULLY. Today.

We will talk again soon...

BP :)

ps I will let you know when I hear from Robin...

Hard questions, laundry, and what I NEED...

Two weeks ago at church, a friend asked if I had been writing - he had not seen any blogs recently. When I told him I hadn't, he asked if I am sad. Sad about not writing? Yes.

What he meant is am I not writing because I am sad? Again, yes.

This question keeps returning to my mind - how much does writing really mean to me? I say it is vital - but my day is filled with other "stuff." So maybe I should  change my words...it is nice, I enjoy it, I do it well - but it isn't vital?

The very notion that it is okay to NOT write literally turns my stomach. And yet, days go by with no words on a page.

 

Have you been there?

Have you had a dream, a gift, a talent you want - no, NEED - to share, but you don't?

When it is suggested to me that I seem "just fine" even though I rarely write, something jumps up inside and wants to cry out...but it ISN'T fine!!

Oh sure, I can get a lot done in a day. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, gym, groceries, giving time to some folks who have needs. And, certainly, those are important tasks.

But if writing is "vital" to my being, to my soul, why does it take a back seat?

Have you been there? Is there something crying to get out, to be given some time and energy? Is there a place where your heart absolutely sings...and at the end of many days, there is a nagging place  that says, "What about me?"

Your soul's need might be something far removed from writing. It might be a possible career path, or it might be a hobby. But it is there. And you probably know it.

This is not to suggest that you abandon any obligations, or stop meeting the needs of your family, or stop hanging out with friends.

What I know is that, for whatever reason, I have been choosing to order my days in such a way that writing has taken a back seat. And it isn't "just fine" at all. That choice has kept my house clean and my laundry done...and my soul longing. It has carried me to a place I do not like.

So today, in the midst of the laundrycleaninggroceries cycle, I stopped...and I wrote this.

It's a step.

I believe there are many reasons beneath the surface for the choices I have made. Part of THINK BIG focus small, my motivational speaking/writing endeavor, is to take a look at barriers. Not dwell on WHY, only to understand how to move beyond.

So I take this first step, and know that there are many more...and part of the way to go forward is to clear the path.

How about you? Are there roadblocks you feel but can't fully identify?

I invite you to think about that, and check back in. This is not a one-blog topic! I would love any feedback or thoughts you have.

Carry this thought today:  In re-evaluating your commitments, ask yourself on a daily basis, in everything you do: 'Is this in alignment with what I am committed to do'?"

We will talk again soon...

BP  :)

Robin Roberts, Coach K, sinkholes...and getting unstuck

I am a writer who hasn't been writing much lately. There are many reasons...and none which sound even remotely valid right now.

But today I am inspired. So here I am.

Inspired by physics, Robin Roberts, my coaching friend Linda, a sinkhole...lots of inspiration!

I didn't dislike high school physics. But what Mr. Ellis didn't explain was the role I have on the energy inside and outside my body. Just wasn't covered in the curriculum. But now I understand better. Now I get that everything is energy, and that I can influence it.

Sound freaky? It really isn't. Abraham Lincoln said most people are as happy as they make their minds up to be. That is positive energy at work. Same with your grandmother saying you would feel better if you smiled instead of pouted. "Lighten up" and "downcast" are very literal descriptions  of our ability to control the energy around us. Think about it.

Robin Roberts has inspired me since her days at ESPN. She ignores the  "black female" barriers and pushes forward. ESPN anchor, ABC morning news reader, Good Morning America host - all easy compared to "two time cancer survivor" and "bone marrow transplant patient." But she pushes on with grace and class and faith. She pushes on, knowing that life is uncertain and cancer is indiscriminant. What choice does she have but to keep dreaming.

Linda Kalafatis is one of the all-time winningest coaches in NCAA softball history. More than that, she committed herself, her heart to her program, her girls, the university. And in May 2012, a day after her team ended the season with 31 wins, she was unceremoniously fired. Life happens like that sometimes. Unexpected. Unfair. But she pushes on. What choice does she have but to keep dreaming?

How about you...what challenges are you facing?

If you have been tracking with me for any time, you know of a long financial struggle caused by litigation. I have learned far more about our country's judicial process than I ever wanted to know. Sometimes it has caused me to get stuck.

Has that happened to you? Have you ever become frozen by a circumstance in your life?  Has it become hard to push on because your dreams seem to be lost?

Yeah, me too.  I have allowed it to affect every corner of my life, acted as if I have no control, as if my dreams are gone.

Then a sinkhole snapped me out of it. If you don't watch the news, you may not have heard about a sinkhole in Florida swallowing a house. A man, asleep in his bed one minute, lost in the Earth the next minute. Death happens like that sometimes. But this piece is not about prophesying doom. It is a call to move. It is a call to LIVE.

Back to physics...I don't have control of the tectonic plates under me, or of other people, or of the court system which has wreaked havoc on my life.

BUT but but...I do have control of me. I absolutely can affect the energy around me. I can decide what I draw to me and what I don't allow. I can trust the One who created all energy, who can cause favor to fall on me, who knows how many hairs are on my head and can see the end from the beginning.

I can acknowledge the challenges but not let them have control.  How about you?

I can take one small step hen another then another, ignoring the screaming voices saying it can't be done. How about you?

I can push on toward my dream. What choice do I have?

Will you join me...can we do it just for today? There are sinkholes everywhere - let's be inspired to take just one step today.

DEAL?

We will talk again soon...

BP :)