Aiding and Abetting Thieves {Day 10}

I am thinking tonight about my heart… and thieves.

Consider several translations of one of my favorite Bible verses - John 10.10:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. NIV

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. The Message

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[b]overflows). Amplified

Full…more than they ever dreamed of…abundance…

I have thieves in my life.

Most of them live in my head.

For a number of weeks, my Pittsburgh Pirates have been providing pleasant diversion. Haunting thoughts have been easier to keep at bay. By that, I mostly mean thoughts about the financial litigation I am enduring. It is scary, and many days, it is a thief.

My Bucs lost last night. The diversion is gone.

My first thought this morning was of the litigation.

Thief.

Sometimes I get caught up thinking about things in my life that are difficult right now.

That is not unreasonable…but sometimes it is a thief.

So, here it is …11:15 PM and I am writing today’s blog post.

Now my sleep is being stolen.

Another thief.

The greatest loss, however, is when I allow my joy to be stolen.

The litigation, my accident, other life events…stealing my joy. My JOY!!!

I watch the thief.

Sometimes, I aid and abet.

Then I remember I have a choice.

I can order my days better (just bought a book about that!)

I can trust in the plan even when the process is difficult and painful.

I can refuse to allow ANYTHING to steal my joy. I can have and enjoy my life.

How about you?

How are your choices working?

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of!

Think about it…

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 10.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Songs of Life {Day 9}

There are songs I have always known...you probably know them too...

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight...
or
Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky...
or
Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong...
or 
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain...

Maybe you have others. 

I have one more. The year my mom was pregnant with me, she had season tickets at Forbes Field.
Prenatal Pirate fan.
My grandmother also loved the game. I have fond memories of afternoons at Three Rivers Stadium with her.

Twenty years is a long time to wait for a winner...to sit through dreadful performances with no more than a couple thousand people in the stands.

So tonight, in lieu of lots of words, an examination of my heart yields this...

GO BUCS!!!

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 4.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Advice to a Younger Me...am I listening? {Day 8}

Here we are on Day 8 of 31, Examining My Heart

Just as an aside…I misspell examining almost every time I write it. You have words like that, don’t you?

A friend posted a Facebook inquiry today: What advice would you give to a woman 10-20 years younger than you?

Since I don’t know the woman in question, I can only imagine what advice I would go back twenty years and give myself.

It made me think…and look inside.

How about you? Is that a provocative question?

The very first and loudest thing I would say is that time really does fly. The years spin faster with each one that passes. It is a lesson lost on the young.

Thankfully, I am still here to be able to say the past twenty years have gone quickly. Others I love are not.

People are finite. Love them now.

And make sure they love you back. In a healthy way for both of you. Or love them from a distance. You are finite as well.

I would tell myself to heed my gut. Not always without examination. But understand that there are some things you just know. You know them immediately. You know that you know that you know.

Others might not believe it.

Others might do things that change the appearance of what you know.

But don’t let that cause doubt.

I would tell myself to watch my gut. The physical one. Maintenance is easier than repair.

I would tell myself that paying attention, listening to people is better than giving them a tangible gift. And finding people who listen with their heart is giving yourself a gift.

There are a dozen things I would say about money, use of time, family, education, avocation…but what is the most important?

What did I most need to know twenty years ago?

That God loves me…that it is important to love myself…vital, even.

That I am a unique, unrepeatable miracle…no one else can be me…no one else has the combination of gifts I have, so no one else can do what I can do.

THAT is the most important thing I have learned in the past twenty years.

And by the way, the same words apply to you.

Do you know that?

20, 40, 60…it is never too late to learn.

What would you tell a 20 years younger version of yourself?

The answer might give you a glimpse into your heart.

Think about it. And listen.

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 4.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Examining My Heart for a wasted 5 minutes...{Day 7}

I don’t like to pluck my eyebrows.

Truthfully, I don’t know anyone who does. It is a necessary task. And it hurts!

It is also like a number of other unpleasant chores in that if I devoted just 5 minutes every couple days it would never get out of hand.

I am a master of doing that with cleaning…10 minutes in the kitchen, a quick trip around the floor with a Swiffer. Of course, I still do “big” cleaning, but not as often – and my house is generally clean.

I just won’t do that with my eyebrows…and some other things.

Five minutes isn’t much, really. Assuming you sleep 8 hours, you get 192 sets of “5 minutes” every day.

Think of the possibilities…what can I do in 5 minutes?

Unload the dishwasher?

Fold a load of towels?

Read from a devotional?

Pray or meditate?

Part of 31 Days of Examining My Heart is to see how I spend my time. The answer to that says something about my character.

Even more confronting to me is how often I waste 5 minutes, then say I “don’t have time” to get to important things.

How about you?

At the risk of offending, I don’t want to mention the ways I feel I waste time each day – it might not be a waste to you.

But we all do it. We all give pieces of our non-refundable, limited time to silly things.

And we skip things that could make a difference. Quiet time. Talking to a special child. Walking barefoot in the grass.

And yes, plucking our eyebrows.

5 minutes a day.

I am going to pick just two things for tomorrow. Start small.

How about you? How can 5 minutes a couple times a day change your life?

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 4.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

BUCS WIN! BUCS WIN!...and the lure of "easy" {Day 6}

Oct 6

It’s would be easy to skip posting today. The hour is late. I am tired.

I am also committed. And still hyped up about my Bucs winning today.

I LOVE my Pittsburgh Pirates. Loved them as a kid, through the 80’s drug scandals, for the past 20 years of losing…just always loved them

Jumping off the bandwagon was never really an option for me, although I understand why some folks did.

PNC Park opened in 2001. It is a terrific ballpark in a beautiful city. People came for the atmosphere. And because the Pirates have a talented promotional staff, people came for bobble-heads and fireworks and Kool and The Gang and kids running the bases after the game and pup night…but rarely for the baseball.

The drudgery of so much losing was compounded by the fact that management didn’t seem to care. There was an unwillingness to pay big salaries. Each time a player had a great year, he was traded to avoid a large salary increase.

But fans still attended. Not sell –outs every game, but enough to make money for the club.

So, while fans were suffering though endless losing, the owners were taking the easy way out and still making money.

In 2008, new owners took over…and while we couldn’t see it immediately, a shift had begun. We had five more losing seasons, but 2011 and 2012 were at least filled with hope until late in the season.

The fans were tired of “easy” and just having nice surroundings. Thankfully, the new owners were too.

Easy isn’t always best. Easy doesn’t always win.

So, here I sit at 11:10 PM, still excited because we are one game from the National League Championship Series. We won 94 games in the regular season. The Bucs are back!

And I sit here because I have chosen “easy” too often.

Easy to not post a blog because it’s only one time and I haven’t missed yet.

Easy to not exercise because I am tired.

Easy to make bad food choices because it’s someone’s birthday.

Easy to go off the budget because there is a sale.

Easy to allow mediocrity because, well, it’s easier. Doesn’t require much of me. Doesn’t ruffle feathers.

I have sometimes been like the previous Pirate owners – don’t want to pay the price.

But today I choose differently.

How about you?

Do you ever choose “easy”? Do you settle for “good” when “best” is within reach but would stir up your world a bit?

Maybe it’s just me…

Today is Oct 6.

My Pirates won…again.

I am reminded the best things generally don’t come from a box marked “easy.”

Do you agree?

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 6.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Jeremiah 29:11 and what Chizzie taught me {Day 5}

Note to readers: This is a revised version piece was written several years ago. Chizzie, my beloved cat, died in October 2011. The lessons he taught still ring true.

Chizzie's Tale

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.

This is one of my life verses.

I memorized it years ago and it is always on my list of “favorite” Bible verses.

Which doesn’t mean I have fully embraced it.

How about you?

Do you ever catch yourself in direct contrast to a favorite quotation or Bible passage?

No? Must just be me. Okay.

My friend, J David Panther, often reminded me that God’s plan has two parts, His part and my part. I can’t do God’s part – and He won’t do my part.

This verse is filled with promise – God’s part.

But do I listen? Do I obey? Do I even believe? Do I do my part?

One morning, during my devotion time, I looked at the cat curled on my lap and thought about this verse…God has funny ways sometimes.

Chizzie is unlike any other cat I’ve had. He is absolutely devoted to me. My friends say he is madly in love with me. And, I guess he is, as much as a cat can be.

When I pull in front of the house, he is waiting in the window, even if I am later than usual. Then he bolts to the front door and does a little dance when I come in. If I park in the garage, he’s waiting at the back door.

He follows me everywhere, and when I sit down, he is immediately on my lap, bumping his head against my arm until I pet him. If he has fallen asleep and I need to move, he doesn’t get irritated, just follows me again.

Every time I speak his name, he looks at me. Every time.

If he is sleeping in a distant corner of the house, I only need to whistle the Penn State Fight Song and he is at my feet.

He sleeps at my side and his day starts when mine does, even when that’s 5:30am.

When he’s hungry, he waits until I go to the kitchen, then he sits at the top of the stairs leading to the lower level and stares at me. When I start to move toward him, he runs down the stairs… and when I reach the bottom he is sitting in front of the empty bowl waiting.

And I think…I need to be more like this cat!

You see, God has a plan for my life and for yours. It’s a GOOD plan.

But when God is an hour later than I expected him to be, do I still dance for joy? When I am waiting at the front door, and He comes in the back, do I run to Him – or do I let it be known that MY plan was different?

Do I follow Him through every room of my life? Are there rooms I won’t go in? Rooms which are dark and unfamiliar, and because I can’t see the plan at that moment I refuse to go in?

How about you?

For I know the plans I have for you…

Yes, I do rest in His presence. But if I am comfortable, do I grumble when He says “Get up”?

Do I allow Him to be the “alarm clock” in my day or is it inconvenient to have to change my schedule to cooperate with His masterful plan?

How about you?

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you…

Am I in tune with Him to the degree that I turn and look at Him each time He speaks my name? Do I ever respond to something as subtle as the whistling of a song?

And when I have a need, do I keep my eyes on Him? Do I wait with calm assurance knowing my bowl will be filled?

How about you?

Plans to give you hope and a future…

God has a plan. It’s a GOOD plan. A plan to prosper me, a plan to give me a good future and hope for my final outcome!

And God keeps His promises. He is going to do His part.

My part is to listen for His voice, trust in His provision, follow where He leads, rest in His presence, and dance for joy.

Chizzie has it right...I should pay attention and do likewise.

We will talk again tomorrow...

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 4.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow this blog, or on her “Think Big focus small” Facebook page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Yes, there is a hymnal in my head...{Day 4}

Some days are so busy, they just get away, don't they?
You know what I mean...the list is long, and there is, inevitably, an interruption or additional task or unplanned event.

And suddenly it is midnight...and I need to write a blog entry for the day...

I sang more today. I love to sing. LOVE...except when I know it will release tears. In that case, I sometimes refuse until I am about to burst. The words and tears spill out together.

Good music, a catchy tune, is important...but I am more attuned to lyrics. Writer. Go figure.

My brain is full of song lyrics. Especially hymns. My mom once had a car without a radio, so I carried a hymnal and sang on every trip.

When I was being transported from the local hospital to a trauma center (last month after my accident) I sang a couple hymns in the ambulance.

It is a blessing to have such words in your mind...words that can soothe and calm whether the injury is visible and caused by a lawn mower or it is an invisible gash caused by life...

So I leave you (and me) with this reminder of one of my ambulance hymns:

All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell,
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesu doeth all things well!

Maybe someone with insomnia will find comfort in these words.

We will talk tomorrow...
BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 4.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

It is what it is...maybe singing can change that {Day 3}

It is what it is.

Popular saying…and, in many ways, true. Acceptance of one’s current situation is certainly important.

Sometimes I don’t accept…I obsess. I become consumed.

Sometimes I think and think and think about what is, about what I can see right in front of my face.

To be honest, I mostly do this when I don’t like what “is” at the moment.

That’s how I have felt for the past few weeks…I have “focused” myself right into a hole.

How about you? Do you ever become so consumed with a current unfavorable, uncomfortable reality that you get lost in it?

I thought so.

So these words smacked me in the head today:

Nothing has to remain the way it is, and nothing is the way it is forever unless and until you say so.

There are a couple very difficult situations in my life right now. I don’t like the way they are going. I want it to change. NOW.

And I have been unhappy.

Have, in fact, refused to be anything but unhappy.

How about you? Ever done that?

I refused to entertain any happiness. Doing so might show acceptance of the things I don’t like.  Silly, isn’t it, to believe that being miserable might change the situation. Refuse to laugh, refuse to sing, refuse to shine any amount of light.

How about you? Ever done that?

Then I happened on a video. Nothing profound. It was a guy singing in traffic, dancing in the driver’s seat, engaging fellow drivers. It made me smile, in spite of myself.

I thought about someone who sings and dances while cooking and cleaning. It made me smile, in spite of myself.

I am going to try it…singing…dancing…allowing myself to be happy.

The situations haven’t changed. They are still difficult beyond words. I am distracted and scared and my heart hurts.

Unhappiness doesn’t change that.

Nothing has to remain the way it is, and nothing is the way it is forever unless and until you say so.

It is what it is…until it isn’t.

I know how I hope things will go. I don't know when that will happen, but the nbest case scenario will be my focus

I am going to see if good vibrations can help turn things in my favor…the grumpiness sure isn't helping. 

Will you join me?

Travelin’ along here’s a song that we’re singing…C’mon get Happy!

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 2.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Uprooted foundations, JOY... and it's my choice?? [Day 2]

In November 2005, I was part of a mission trip to Mississippi. It was 11 weeks after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast.

Photographs and news reports did not adequately describe the scene. One of the most powerful images to me was a house that had been moved from its foundation and was sitting on railroad tracks. The house looked to be in good condition – obviously that appearance was deceiving.

I had coffee recently with a new friend. She told me – and I say this with great humility – that she had wanted to chat with me because every time she sees me, my spirit just screams JOY.

I smiled.

A Sunday School song came to mind… I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart…

I hoped my spirit was still screaming JOY…

Because recently, I feel like the dislocated house.

How about you?

I don’t like it.

For a number of reasons, intrinsic and extrinsic, JOY was a choice I once had to be diligent about making. It didn’t come naturally to me. No, that’s a lie…it did come naturally but I subverted it with negativity and murmuring and self-pity.

With the help of great friends and great sermons and prayer and diligence, I climbed out of that hole. My emotions found balance. JOY was a natural state of being.

But not today. Not for quite a number of days.

How about you? Does it ever hit you that you can’t remember the last time you laughed? Yeah, me too.

If there was a hurricane, I missed it…or maybe it was a series of small storms.

Something changed the landscape and moved me off my foundation.

Unlike the Gulf Coast residents, I had a choice.

I choose worry and fear and angst. I chose.

How about you?

Oh sure, there were factors – intrinsic and extrinsic.

Everything in life hasn’t been fabulous.

But I still got to choose.

A wise person has been telling me each of us gets a limited number of days, and JOY should always be the choice.

I refused to listen, refused to heed that good advice, refused to join in the JOY.

How about you? Yeah, you have done that as well.

Maybe, like me, you are smacked in the heart with the knowledge that choices have consequences.

Wasted days, lost time, lost opportunity, hurt hearts.

This day is almost gone.

Tomorrow we get to start fresh. New mercies. Praise God for that.

Maybe you will join me in examining your heart and making good choices.

I want my spirit to scream JOY.

How about you?

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart. 

This is Day 2.

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics.

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!

Tell my heart that All Things Work Together {Day 1}

Day 1

There is a popular worship song called “Your Love Never Fails” with this bridge:

You make all things work together for my good…

The last time we sang it in church, that line made tears run down my face.

Today, as I type, there are more tears.

My head knows it is true. My heart is skeptical.

If you have followed my blog for any time, you are familiar with ongoing financial litigation. One delay after another. The end appears to be in sight, and another obstacle appears.

It’s like teasing my cat with a laser pointer. I hold it still just long enough for her to pounce, then jerk it away.

But this isn’t a game. People I love are being hurt by the delay. I am being hurt, not only by the delay but by the anticipation/disappointment cycle. I shout to God that I need it to be over...and it continues.

You make all things work together for my good…

On August 20, I made a bad choice while riding a lawn tractor. The result was two partially amputated fingers and a deep cut on my palm.

I know it is a blessing to be able to say this is the worst injury I’ve ever had. And I know, as numerous people have said, that it could have been much worse. My head knows that.

But when the swelling makes my whole hand ache, when I drop things because I forget the hand isn’t healed and will always be less than what it was, it is hard to think “blessing.”

You make all things work together for my good…

I have allowed these things to distract me, consume me, stifle me. I don’t recognize the person I see in the mirror. I can’t sleep (VERY unusual for me) and can’t focus.

Relationships that matter greatly to me have become strained.

My life feels like a bundle of chaos.

You make all things work together for my good…

Not feeling THAT at all.

My dear friend Pat met me for coffee today. We haven't talked in months. Was it a coincidence that I saw her on Sunday and made a plan to meet? Unlikely.

Pat knows me well. We don't do small talk, just get right to the important stuff.  I caught her up on my life…told her I couldn’t see or feel where God was in any of this.

She listened intently, then lovingly said, “I see God all over it. I see that He is making a path for you. It would be wise to take time, sit quietly, pray, be open. Then do what you know you need to do."

I told her my topic for these 31 days of October is Examining My Heart, and she smiled.

You make all things work together for my good…

My finances are a mess and every delay scares me a little more…

You make all things work together for my good…

I am having trouble focusing on my work, especially on writing my book…

You make all things work together for my good…

My heart hurts…

You make all things work together for my good…

This isn’t who I am or who I want to be.

It seems 31 Days of Examining My Heart is appropriate right now.

How about you? Do you have trouble saying these words:

You make all things work together for my good…

Maybe you will join me on this journey.

We will talk again tomorrow…

BP

I’m participating with The Nester in 31 Days of Examining My Heart.

This is Day 1. 

You can find all 31 Dayers here. There are so many wonderful topics. 

If you miss any days in the series, you can find the introduction and each day's post here.

  

Beth Painter is a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.

Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!