christmas is as christmas was

Today, I was going through stacks and stacks of papers.  Among them I found this poem I had written about Christmas.  It was nearly done, but still needed some finishing touches. And while it's still 116 days and 50 minutes until Christmas (but who's counting?), can't we celebrate our Gift every day? 

Christmas is as Christmas was

so many years ago.

For unto us was born that day,

a Savior, baby boy.

The wisemen followed faithfully

'til the Baby they did find.

And at His feet they laid their gifts,

the sacrificial kind.

Now all grown up, He was a King

but not as we know kings.

This Royalty was unique in that

forgiveness He did bring.

He gave His life for you and me,

but on Earth He lives no more.

For at the right of God He sits,

our Redeemer to adore.

Christmas is as Christmas was

so many years ago.

This King still rules o'er Heaven and Earth

our Savior, baby boy.

think about it thursday: 08.28.08

I've been reading an awesome book called The Shack.  If you haven't read it, I'd definitely recommend it.  It's one that really makes you think, perhaps a little beyond your comfort zone. It was difficult to pick just one excerpt for today's think about it, but here it is:

"Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly...and if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

--Papa (The Shack, p. 97)

Think about it.

the decade days

I heard a great idea on the radio today, and I think I'll go for it the next time I have a birthday that marks the end of one decade and the start of another.

This DJ was telling a story about how she was talking to her hairdresser about turning 40.  The hairdresser said, "Oh you should do what I did when I turned 30. I celebrated my birthday for 30 days, beginning 30 days before my actual birthday."

She gave some great suggestions about how she could do it, such as:

1. Doing something you've never done before on each of those days. (It doesn't have to be big...she mentioned she was going to eat sushi.)

2. Calling someone you haven't talked to in a long time on each of those days (a different person on each day!).

3. Looking outward, and doing something nice for someone else on each of those days.

4. Reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life (it's a 40 day devotional.)

Wouldn't this be cool to do on every new decade of your life?

Being as I am - a perfectionista in the fast lane going slow - I think I need to change it up a little to fit me and my lifestyle better.  Like, let the days span out the entire year for instance.  Or depending on the goal, maybe they will need to span the whole decade.  Perhaps I'll even include something off my bucket list.

I've got 5 1/2 years to plan for my next set of decade days.  I better get cracking if its going to be perfect!

think about it thursday: 08.21.08

I've decided to take a step of faith and try and post something to think about every Thursday.  I don't know if I'll actually be any good at this regular posting thing, but surely in a week's time, something had to make me me stop and think.  So, here goes...

"We like to pop a coin into the machine and get a drink right away.  Prayer isn't like that..."

(Bill Roberson, Join the Journey)

Think about it.

what you don't know about me

Don't worry.  What you don't know about me won't hurt you...

1. I sat on the 4th row at the Jackson's Victory Tour concert in 1984. (My mom paid $120 for 4 tickets in a lottery system, and that's what we got! She was so excited, she misspelled her name when she signed for them, and then hid the tickets behind a picture hanging in her room until the day of the concert.  We were sitting so close to the stage, we couldn't see Michael's feet when he did the moonwalk :-( Check out this youtube clip for a taste of what it was like!)
   
2. I tear up (and sometimes even cry!) when I hear or sing the National Anthem or any other patriotic song.
   
3. In fourth grade I danced a solo to "Billie Jean" in the school talent show.
   
4. In third grade, my two friends and I played an air guitar gig to Joan Jett and the Blackheart's hit "I Love Rock-N-Roll."  Click here to watch the real thing!
   
5. In sixth grade I had a mullet.
   
6. I cry when someone wins big on The Price is Right.
   
7. I can do a pretty decent impression of Droopy the Dog. Click here to see him in action.
8. I used to cry when I heard the Stars Wars theme. I had a major crush on Luke Skywalker. Click here to have a listen! 
9. Obi coban tobalk obin toburkobey tobalk, coban yobou?
10. I can whinny like a horse.
11. When I was 11, I was backstage at Johnny Carson and Days of Our Lives, and in the audience at Wheel of Fortune.
12. I was serenaded by a Mariachi band at midnight and proposed to (by my husband!) in Juarez, Mexico.
13. In first grade I peed my pants because Mrs. Hymer wouldn't let me go to the bathroom.
14. I can roll my tongue, turn it over in both directions, bend it, turn it into a flower, and make a castle out of my lips!
15. I'm five degrees to Kevin Bacon. Find out how many you are here.
16. I've changed approximately 10,000 diapers.
17. I eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches even when I'm not pregnant!
18. I've sung "Silent Night" at least 365 times in the last year.
19. I've cried over spilt milk, several times.
20. I was once mistaken for Miss Colombia when I was eating dinner at a restaurant in Puerto Rico (the Miss Universe pageant was in town.) Go here to see what she really looked like.

the power of thought

God has really been speaking to me in the past few months about my "self talk."  What I've discovered is how powerful it is.

It all started with a Bible study lesson. I can't even remember the name of the book it came from, but I just remember that the topic of the lesson was the impact of self talk. We've all heard that if someone tells you something long enough, eventually you will believe it. And basically, that was what was happening to me. Except it wasn't someone else doing the talking...it was me talking to myself in thought. Or at least I thought it was me doing the talking.

The things I thought about on a regular basis were just flat out destructive. Not in a physical danger kind of way, but in a tearing myself down kind of way.  It affected my attitudes, my words, my moods, and even my view of myself.  And as if that wasn't enough, it also affected how I was relating to others.

But God showed me that these thoughts were not my own. They were lies straight from the pits of hell. The master of deception had found a weak spot in me. He crept in so slyly, so gradually, that I didn't even realize it had happened. Most of the time, I would catch myself in the middle of one of these thought dungeons, not even realizing I had been listening to his lies so intently.

But God didn't just show me the origin of these thoughts.  He gave me a way to combat them, too. 

I had been praying that God would show me a verse that I could claim as my very own "life verse." One that would be applicable and intensely significant to the real me. The real me that He knit together in my mother's womb. The real me that He fearfully and wonderfully made. That woman that He created as one-of-a-kind.  

Then one day - again in a Bible study - it came to me.  The verse wasn't even the focus of the lesson, but there it was, nonetheless.  It was one I had read a million times, but this time it was different. It was perfectly relevant and had significant meaning to the real me. And I instantly knew it was mine.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." Philipians 4:8

I can't even begin to describe the impact of this verse assignment. It was as if He had written it just for me. Honestly, it transformed me overnight...kind of like a holy extreme makeover. I am no longer captive to these lies for extended periods of time. If I find myself hanging out in one of these thought dungeons, I just meditate on my verse and am transported back to a place of refuge, safe in the arms of my Savior.

Most recently, God showed me yet another way I can use this verse to combat negative thoughts and difficult situations. It's a series of questions - related to my verse - that I ask myself to gain perspective and perhaps redirect my thinking.  (I have fondly named them the "u-turn group" :-) What is true about this thought/situation? What is noble? What is right? What is pure? What is lovely? What is admirable? If there isn't anything excellent or praiseworthy about it, I shouldn't be thinking about it in the first place.

I truly desire integrity in thought as well as deed. I am so grateful God has revealed to me the power of my mind, and that He gave me this verse for taming it.

perfectionism at its finest

Combining perfectionism with efficiency is scary...

Check out this short video clip on t-shirt folding. As soon as I saw it, I practically ran to get a shirt so I could try it.  And after a few tries, I'd mastered it. I love perfectly folded shirts "in a pinch" :-) 

The video is in Japanese.  But that doesn't matter.  Perfectionism speaks all languages!