Spring has sprung here in Northern California, and these beautiful blossoms greet me every time I turn into this tree-lined alley near our home.  What a gorgeous display!  What promise they proclaim, of the new beginnings of one of our favorite times of the year.

Did you know that the number 8 signifies new beginnings in scripture?  When I turned the calendar page to January 1, 2008, I began to ask God, and to believe Him for a season of new things. 

Perhaps it’s time to believe God for something fresh and new for you and yours.  Let’s allow the natural things to speak to us of the spiritual things God wants to do for us, in us and through us.

As of today, you’ve spent just 68 days of this year that I’m proclaiming as a year of NEW BEGINNINGS, which means you’ve got about 297 more days left of 2008 to posture yourself toward asking, knocking and seeking Him, all the while expecting Him to reveal Himself to you in some new ways.  Why not?  Why remain living the same ol’, same ol’? 

My husband urged me today to walk outside and take these photos, before time and the wind robs these branches of their beauty.  I want to urge you in the same way, not to put off doing what must be done…you know in your heart of hearts what that is.   Let’s truly believe Him for NO! Ordinary Year….

Today is Saturday in the U.S.A. and you’ll find many, many, many Moms and Dads frantically carting kids from soccer, to baseball to birthday party #1 for him and birthday party #2 for her, to the obligatory school fund raiser, through the drive-thru for some quick deep fried something with syrup over ice to wash it down, back to the house to pick up what you forgot and off again….THE RACE IS ON for lots of us.

I LOVE WEEKENDS WITH LEISURELY AWAKENINGS AND

THE FREEDOM TO BE SPONTANEOUS

don’t you?

Doesn’t that sound glorious?  Just imagine…coffee pot on…kids sleeping in…a BIG BLANK TO FILL IN any way you (and hubby) choose.  Sitting at the window, sipping, eating your sprouted whole grain toast with raw almond butter and honey with a sweet and delicious winter grapefruit while you ponder the hummingbird/robin/swallow/eagle/sparrow (depending on your region and the season) flittering about outside…kids wake and pick on the guitar, then pull out the Legos…run around in jammies til noon….pure and simple BLISS.

I don’t live in a fantasy, and every Saturday can’t always be unplanned and wide open, but lots of them certainly can, at least for LARGE PORTIONS of the day if we make strategic choices…

Perhaps it’s time to make some adjustments to all the commitments/obligations/pressures we’ve gotten ourselves into……

Pre-prayer meeting at church begins in 28 minutes and you need 15 of those to drive to the building.  O.K….You can feel it in the air….TENSION!!!  Brett can’t find his left shoe (surprise, surprise :)), you probably should have woken the kids earlier, but they were up a bit late last night (again)…Daddy seems on edge because the clock is ticking and he hates to be late…the younger two didn’t have breakfast and you can’t locate a healthy snack to grab - darn! - you knew you should have picked up that box of healthy granola bars when you ran into the grocery store yesterday…lunch won’t be for AGES….rats!  You’ll have to do your make-up in the car yet again…”Stop fighting!”  you yell to the middle two as they bicker over a stupid plastic toy from last week’s Not-So-Happy Meal….

AT THIS MOMENT THINGS COULD GET WORSE OR THINGS COULD GET BETTER.  IT’S UP TO YOU, MOM.

• Praise God.  Verbally and in your heart.
• Stay positive and put it all into perspective.  Jon won’t die if he eats a handful of mini-wheats and a piece of cheese on the way to church.
• Keep your mouth shut as much as is possible.  We gals can stir up stuff quicker than a snap of the fingers, if we’re not careful.  Bless, bless, bless.
• Look at the bright side…at least 1 million other families across the earth and going through the same motions at this moment!  You’re in good company.
• Plan for success for next week.  Stock up on what is a reality breakfast for Sunday morning.  Make the kids pick out every single item they’ll need for dressing for church Sunday, on SATURDAY NIGHT before they watch the movie.  Might not be a bad idea for you to do the same, Mom, if you’re anything like me!
• Go to my January 13th 2008 post:  The Power of the Local Church and remind yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing!
• Happy Sunday!

I think you’ll agree that one extremely pleasant and often hilarious slice of time can be spent browsing the greeting card section of a well-stocked stationery shop, grocery store or discount ‘department store’.   If I know I’ve got 30 precious minutes alone, time stands still for me as I peruse the copious amounts of paper cards available to buy.  A hidden camera would find me, all by myself, throwing my head back and cackling uproariously one moment, then suddenly, two steps to the right, furrowing my brow with compassion…..and finally, ooohhhing and aaahhhing with appreciation across the aisle.  The huge variety to choose from makes the hunt especially fun.  I love cards! 

Perhaps it’s because, although abundant,  they’re really quite rare.  It seems as if the extent of our communication has become more like sound-bites.  A text here, an email there.  Or, we play all day, the most common adult game:  phone tag.  I leave a voicemail for you, you leave one for me, vice versa and business gets done.  Hmmm.  I think we all mourn, to some degree, the lost art of letter-writing.  What a serendipity in our day, to go to the mailbox and actually find something more meaningful than food coupons and advertisements, along with our predictable bills.

So…after I’ve chosen a few perfectly delightful cards, I find it to be such therapy to sit down at a table, on a park bench, my patio or simply on a grass lawn and write a few lines to someone who’s been on my heart.  Some good reasons to write a great card:

Someone has blessed you in a practical way.

Someone has enriched you in a spiritual way.

Someone has taken a special interest in your children.

Someone needs encouragement during a bleak season they’re experiencing.

Someone had a real impact in your life, and you never really told them!

Someone really blew it and they need to know they’re loved.

Someone went the extra mile and they deserve to be honored.

*Very affordable mini-vacation/pricier if you tuck a $20.00 bill inside the card to upgrade the greeting!

Coulda’ been something real little…might have been something real big, but you are feeling the heat. Beating yourself with the mental bat. Up in the middle of the night, rewinding the tapes so you can ‘fix’ it and re-do it, at least mentally. Say different words. Don’t say ANYthing. Drive a different route. Cancel the appointment. Don’t press ‘send’ on the computer button. Don’t buy a computer! Pretty soon, this becomes a mountain that insures more defeat.

Stop it.

You gotta put down the bat and tell yourself the truth:

You love God.

God loves YOU and is for you and ready to help you, NOW.

You’re doing your best to serve Him and to fulfill His purposes for your life, your family’s lives and those in your sphere of influence.

He who never takes a swing, will never hit a homerun.

Most people are going through the motions, but you’re trying to ‘up the ante’ and really make a difference. Of course you’ll encounter setbacks.

This will keep you humble, which is vital for future success.

This will be a turning point, a defining moment and you’ll never be the same.

This pothole will provide encouragement for others when they fall down.

Soberly evaluate just how big a deal it is and how far-reaching the consequences are.

Will Oprah televise your failure to millions of people anytime soon?

Don’t forget - In God, there is always hope. He specializes in messes and He can redeem it.

Today is a new day, with new possibilities. 

Receive God’s grace!

Gregory and all the boys and I had the privilege of helping to kick off a new church plant in Tacoma, Washington, January 19th.  What an honor!  The place was packed and and the meeting was filled with the life of God from beginning to end.  Wow, a new baby church to grow and love and…can’t wait to watch it explode with new life in Christ!  You know how much I love the local church (see post on The Power of the Local Church January 13 2008) and here comes another one….here is our fearless (and fearsome to the enemy) leader, Mike, and a few photos of other enthusiastic world-changers, about to let ‘er rip!   Of course, my camera couldn’t begin to capture the joy, God-life and anticipation of all that is to come in the days ahead…..

  Celebrating 27 years at Bodega Bay with Gregory, the love of my life. (technical difficulties on yesterday’s post, so here’s the photo I referred to.)

BLONDE WARNING:  This little catching-you-up-diary makes the most sense if you scroll down to FEBRUARY 1 and read bottom to top, which brings you to today!  I KNOW…all my organized, techie friends out there are shaking their heads and groaning right now.  Sorry!

FEBRUARY 13

Back to the airport to pick up our friend, Matt, from Seattle who’s visiting for the next 2 weeks.  I took a wrong turn while chatting it up with my kids and their buddy and……almost ended up L.O.S.T…thank God for cell phones!  P.S.  Daddy is feeling better every day, but what a tough bug this flu is!

FEBRUARY 11-12

Back to the homefront where Daddy has been holding the fort, (well, actually more like ‘running a tight ship’) as he is one amazing leader and like I always say, “he can run this house with his eyes closed better than I could any day”.  The gift of administration goes a long way at home and I learn from him every single day.  Sidenote: This is a

great example of how he operates.  See Exhibit A above.  I returned home from errands one Saturday afternoon and my son had a friend over.  They were at opposite ends of the dining room table, playing ‘football’ with these little paper doo-dads they’d created because Daddy had said, “No electronics”.  They were having a blast, pulling this game of paper football out of ancient history (I remember my brothers playing this 40 years ago!)

Okay, back to my post-Boise trip: My homecoming meal was rosemary-lemon chicken breasts by Seth Daniel, Mashed potatoes, Corn-on-the-cob and lots of love!  But, unfortunately, Daddy has come down with the bad flu - so I simmered a big, fat, free-range chicken, chopped a pile of vegies and the house smelled almost heavenly as a big pot of homemade soup sat bubbling on the stove.  Exactly the medicine he was needing. 

FEBRUARY 8-11

Out the door at 4:30 am…Didn’t get lost going to the airport, but did park in the wrong lot (oh, well.  I’m blonde and some days - all the way to the roots.  Come to think of it, I hadn’t had my coffee yet.)  Boise, here we come!  Church of the Harvest (these guys are serious about evangelism and discipleship!), where Mark and Dee Dee Bryan lead, really came out to meet us.  My second-born, Benjamin, met me there, which was the icing on the cake since he now lives 12 hours north of me, in Seattle, WA. (here’s Ben chatting with Mark Bryan after the Parenting Seminar Friday night).

The Friday-Saturday Parenting Seminar was nothing short of an absolute blast - an audience of hungry hearts, ready for anything…and the two morning meetings on Sunday were wrapped in God’s grace.  The photo below perfectly sums up my long weekend in Boise-an absolute BLAST!

I luuuuvvv the local church!!!  I love seeing parents passionate about their kids’ destinies!  I love watching God work!  And I must say, I fell in love with Boise, a place I’d never had the pleasure of visiting.  Get this, Boise is crowned:

• #1 Most secure places to live with 500,00 or more residents by Farmers Insurance 2006
• #8 Best places to live by Money Magazine 2006
• #3 Best places for business and careers by Forbes Magazine 2007
• #9 Hottest cities for entrepreneurs by Inc.com 2007
• #6 Urban environment report card by Earth Day Network 2007

• Not to mention, beautiful, charming and surrounded by snow-covered mountains the weekend we were there - Boise rocks!

FEBRUARY 6-7

…catching up on laundry, home-cooked food and lovin’ my boys.  Then it was ‘unpack, pack and prepare’ for a big weekend comin’ up.  You can see my fashion prowess above as I work in the kitchen in my latest eclectic loungewear set (bottoms by Cosctco/top by Goodwill :)  Yep, this is how my dining room looks just before I come talk to you (see below).  I clean it all up before I leave for the airport, though, I promise.

FEBRUARY 2-5

After taking a wrong turn and going 40 minutes out of my way to the airport - how do these things happen to me when I’ve been to that airport more times than I can recall? - I took off for Hobbs, New Mexico, to speak to folks about the dynamic potential of their amazing children at Cowboy Junction Church where Ty and Heather Bean lead.

  It was a planes, trains and automobiles day as I departed Sacramento, landed in Phoenix, once more to Albuquerque and finally to Lubbock, Texas - careful on the loop -  one more wrong turn!  Then my friend Cindy and I drove the last 2 hours to Hobbs - the oil capital of New Mexico and home to lots of gifted rodeo professionals.  Well, let me tell you, it was worth every mile and minute it took to get there.  We were overwhelmed by the warm Southwest welcome, hospitality (great Superbowl party Sunday night!) and generosity, but especially by the hungry hearts of men, women and children, longing for all God has for them.  CJ all the way!

Well, February 1st was my birthday and my fabulous 50s smoking-hot friend Kathy and I went shopping because I do not shop, do not like to shop, cannot figure out the ‘fashion thing’ (see eclectic loungewear above) and do not have the time or energy to do so.  Well, she is extremely gifted in all these areas.  It seems that if I’m supposed to go talk to people about kids, especially people I have never met -  my clothes have got to match.  So she bravely ventured out with me for a few hours and helped me get  coordinated, God bless her.  Shopping with me is nothing short of hard labor!

Here’s Kathy  with her hubby and best friend forever, Rick, in San Francisco recently.

My friends, let’s not forget that the High Road is the road for us in 2008. Almost never the easy path, but always the right one to take!  Not the one our lazy muscles, prone to sin, most easily gravitate toward…we’d much rather give in to the Path of Least Resistance, but there’s never regret upon choosing the High Road.  “I’m tired of the High Road,”  you might say.  “It takes so much effort; with, it seems, so little payoff.  No one else around me seems too concerned with it and they don’t seem to be suffering.  They’re Christians.  But me…I’d be better off dodging it at times.  The High Road has cost me a a whole lot!”  Oh, our flesh cries, doesn’t it?  For one brief moment to wallow in our self pity, let fly that off-color comment, to chew that tasty morsel of choice gossip longing for our attention….just one email to divulge all that we think we know about that situation….uh uh…don’t do it.  You may feel like a pig in mud for a very brief period of time as you leap down to where the chickens peck and the rodents crawl, and then, you will indeed, feel remorse that you allowed yourself to be persuaded from the high and holy walk God has for you.  He sees.  He hears.  He whispers in your ear to remind you of the promises He’s given you.  You will, eventually, reap what you have sown.  Never, never, never, never tire of traveling the only acceptable path this year…the High Road.  The path that blesses all, builds Kingdom, preserves relationships and stands alongside Truth.  The path God walks with you.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

Today is Sunday.  Here in the U.S., where winter rages and mornings can be as dark as evening, many will wake themselves earlier than they wish to, make a beeline to the kitchen where the coffee pot beckons, then roll their groggy, hibernating kids from warm, fluffy down comforters…to drive to a building they call ‘the church’.*   It would seem, at times, easier not to make the effort.  But they do.  In droves.  Others across the ocean where summer sings and sunshine, SCREAMing through the window, serves as the alarm clock, join along in the mad rush to ‘make it to the church on time!’ 

It’s the right thing to do. 

I am absolutely, unequivocally, yes, even fiercely, committed to the local church.  Always have been; always will be.  God’s brilliant idea and perfect inspiration.  At best, His body, His bride, His people, joined together today as a spiritual family at venues across the earth.  A practical gathering, experiencing a holy moment.  Yet, paradoxically, an imperfect expression (divinely perfect yet humanly flawed), seemingly flocked by transients since its inception, and at times exhausting;  YET AGAIN, the constant, living organism of God!  I believe, the most powerful ‘organization’ (for lack of a better word) on the planet.  The most important institution (for lack of a better word) in the earth.  The beacon of hope in society, yet filled with fragile, broken people, endeavoring to become all they can be for Him.   A sure investment, the most worthy appointment of your week, next to spending time alone with Jesus Christ…the beloved local church.  My friends, my family, my ‘club’, my hobby, my work, my play, my comfort, my joy and my pain at times; my obsession…the local church.  Believe in her, love her, serve her, protect her, defend her, support her and teach your children, by example, to do the same.  It’s gonna be worth it all.

*I Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood…Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it…does not live in temples built by hands

Have you seen this? This inexpensive, easily accessible, paperback book is undoubtedly one of my most favorite tools for success in Kingdom life. It’s the entire Holy Bible, broken into daily readings consisting of a portion of the Old and New Testaments, along with a Psalm and Proverb reading as well. I’ve ordered myself a copy for 2008 in a different translation than the one I’ve been in the habit of reading, so I’m looking forward to a fresh flavor in my reading this year. (There are also One Year Bibles for kids, with shorter daily reading portions.) It’s not a ‘box’ you have to live in, but a plan set in place to get me in God’s Word daily, without flipping here and there while wasting 20 precious minutes deciding ‘where to read today’. Then, if I happen to hit a spot where I want to camp, I’m free to do that, utilizing any number of other Bibles and study books I have until I want to move on and jump right back on track in my One Year Bible at the day’s reading where I left off. Look at this:
Hebrews 1:3 tells us that The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. Is the Word of God sustaining you? Are you being supported, strengthened, encouraged, carried, upheld by His Word? Or are you perpetually weak, lagging, afraid, depressed, oppressed, uncertain, and deflated? To wish human beings a ‘Happy New Year’ devoid of God’s Word, I might as well cross my fingers and knock on wood that everything works out o.k. for them. That’s too big a risk for me. Without God’s Word, I’m starving myself and living in a weak, defeated and emaciated way. Colossians 3:15 reminds us to Let the Word of Christ DWELL in you RICHLY…and that ain’t about livin’ out of my promise box! ‘Vitamins’ can never take the place of eating whole, balanced, nutritious meals every day. Start fresh this year and make a practical plan to live in God’s Word daily - His Word never fails. Oh yeah, one more thing: Happy New Year!