Having What it Takes

 Sometimes I don't feel up to the struggles in my day. I fear that I won't have what it takes. I have to set my mind to remember what God's word says is true regardless of how I am feeling.

We have everything we need for life and godliness".

II Peter 1:3

Sometimes I feel like I don't have the tools or the stamina or the ability to deal with some of life's struggles. But God says I have everything I need. This moves me to dig deeper...keep pushing...never give up...the tools I need are available....the intelligence the strength the endurance...everything I need to deal with this life and to become more like Him is available to me.

"All things are possible for anyone who believes"
Mark 9:23


All...that includes everything. This gives me a lot of comfort. No matter what I'm looking at...though it appears impossible I know that Jesus said All and He does not lie. The only limitations in the word All are the ones I allow to be included. This is an astounding truth. I know I have lived way too much of my life with faith that is not even close to believing All.

Be the Exception

Recently, 64 year old Diana Nyad, decided that she was not too old to swim from Cuba to Miami…110 miles in 53 hours….in shark infested waters…without a shark cage! She decided she could…so she did. This was her third attempt…sometimes truly great things take more than one attempt. She simply decided it could and would be done…by her.

 Truly, with one thought, Diana Nyad moved from accepting average to…being the exception.

 The Bible says that “As a man thinks in his heart…so is he”. Whatever you believe in your heart is true… Whatever you declare to be true.. is true…for you.

There is a part of this city, like in most cities, where things have become old. Everything looks used…lots of worn out and rundown buildings. Some look like they should be demolished and many just need a serious face lift…at least a fresh coat of paint. There are numerous restaurants and most don’t look like places where I would want to eat.

One day a friend invited me to lunch at one of “those” places. It was very old fashion but when we pulled in I realized how fresh and clean everything was. I had driven by many times but never really looked at it. We went inside and I was instantly impressed. They had gentleman wearing dress shirts and ties waiting to seat us….and it was also packed out. I later learned that it is always packed out. They were unique with an extraordinary menu and completed the experience with great service. I’ve been back several times

You have probably had a similar experience. You know about the great restaurant somewhere that does not look like it’s going to be great. The thing about this one that intrigues me is that there is nothing like it around. They are in an area where most do not appear to even be trying. Almost nothing on the road is what you would describe as “nice”. But the people that own this restaurant did not say “We can’t attract good clientele because of our location.” They did not lower their standards to meet those of the businesses around them. They decided to continue to serve high quality food, with great service, and to keep their place looking great. They continue their forward thinking as they are presently repaving the parking lot and expecting it to be filled. They have decided to…be the exception.

 It’s obvious that many have given up on this stretch of road…their businesses do not look inviting and there are few vehicles in their parking lot.  Here is the issue...They look as good as those around them. They have accepted mediocrity as their standard. Consequently, they probably do as good as those around them. I would venture to say that they are doing exactly as well as they believe they can.

Actually, we all do that. We live exactly what we expect. Unfortunately, the low expectations of these failing businesses have become the limits of what they can achieve and the same can be true of us. Our expectations have come to define us and sometimes, to our own demise we just don’t expect much. Often, being an exception is far from our thoughts.

The truth is that we live only one thought away from being more.

There are opportunities everyday to be the exception. Every time we put others before ourselves we are being the exception. The person that refuses to talk badly about another person…even when the other person has been very wrong…the exception. Those who have taken responsibility for their own lives and have made the choice to blame no one….the exceptions.

Everyday choices matter…showing up for work early, being dependable, exercising, or eating healthy. Choosing positive responses to life’s inevitable irritations, praying for your enemies, refusing to gossip, doing good to those that despitefully use you, refusing to hold on to resentments…refusing to judge others…forgiving completely….all…exceptions.

This old diner reminded me that anywhere and at any time I can choose to be the exception. It does not matter what is going on around me…those around me are not my standard…excellence is my standard and I can choose, at any time, to strive for it…to accept nothing less of myself.

 

Diana Nyad reminds me that though my decision is made...it might take several attempts...and she reminds me not to fear the sharks...fear is paralyzing and I can't do what I need to do if I operate in fear....she set an example of keeping people involved in my mission...people that believe in me...people who will watch my back...who will warn me if the sharks get too close...she exemplifies staying focused on your goal...never giving up...refusing the polarizing beliefs that are filled with mediocre expectations...instead she chose to...be the exception.

You get to choose...choose to believe in the endless possibilities available to you...you are exactly one thought away from...being more.

Whatever you believe will be true…as the saying goes...If you say you can…you can…if you say you can’t…you will not. Say you can…say you will…choose to…be the exception.

Be-Do Live

 Millions of us meet every Friday in the Nation’s airports.  What takes place from the moment you enter is a picture of what is occurring daily in our lives…how easily we can miss really living.

Edgy Impatience
The airports are packed with people...rushing to get in…rushing from point to point….rushing to get out…young and old...pulling more baggage than they need....walking as fast as they can…worried…tensed…stressed. The air is thick with discontent…edgy impatience… as they wait in lines…lots of lines…lines at security ,restaurants, bathrooms, luggage, departure gates…everyone with an attitude just pouring from them of “I shouldn't have to be in this line…I am in a hurry…I have more important things to do.” It is as though they show up every week and go through the same surprise and disappointment that other people are also traveling. “Oh noooo! There is a line!” And they relive the same frustration over and over.  

 Life On Hold
I see people traveling together that are griping at each other...tense angry faces…biting words. What started out as vacation became…travel…a task to get done. Fun, experiencing life together, is on hold until we get where we are going.

A Rush of Discontent
As I walk through the airport I hear conversation after conversation…people telling of how they have been wronged or how messed up their company policies are…how others are getting away with something…how somebody intentionally hurt them.  Add to that, there seems to always be that person, talking really loud, telling how they heroically came back with a zinger one line that set everyone straight.

As I continue I hear many that seem to be experts. They know what every politician should be doing…how to handle every issue facing our country... and many are experts on every sports team in America... they know what every player, coach, or owner should be doing in order to be successful...Most of the conversation is negative… It's all a rush of discontentment.

Life Is Too Short
This was not just last Friday…it’s every Friday…life is too short for this .I can’t help wishing everyone would just relax and stroll through the airport at a pace that makes sense. However, if you do slow down you will make a lot of people even more tense. Sometimes they will push past you with an air of importance and urgency…they really need to get somewhere. Then you arrive at your gate 45 minutes early only to find them standing there…staring at the gate….anxiously and miserably awaiting boarding time.  

Habits That Serve No Real Purpose
Are 90% of the people rushing through our nation’s airports or impatiently waiting in our city traffic truly late to get somewhere? Is it just a habit? Is it just a mentality that we automatically slip into? Are these habits and mentalities showing up in a lot of places in our lives? Are we rushing out of habit when we are not even late? Are we experiencing anxiety and discontentment because everyone else is?

Have we developed habits that serve no real purpose…like rushing through airports when we are not late… or wasting time in meaningless conversations that have no real value?

A Habit of Patience and Peace, 
What if? What if we just slowed down…became courteous…said nice things about the people in our world, who by the way, are just trying to survive the day…just like us. What if I developed a habit of patience, a habit of peacefulness in the midst of the rush?

The Rare Moment

 The Bible says “think on these things...whatever is good... whatever is praiseworthy...” 
That sounds great but where are the people that know that and practice this kind of mental discipline? They are the ones that provide for us the rare moment…the rare experience. They are smiling while waiting in line, they are courteous and let us go before them, their words are encouraging, even gentle.

We Determine Our Days
Life is difficult... We decide its realities...we determine our days. Don't waste one….not a moment….not at an airport, not in traffic and not at dinner with your family.

Live
Enjoy life...hug more...call more... share more pics...enjoy being together...love what you do or find something you love...make today count...tomorrow is not guaranteed....live, be happy, enjoy things, love people...laugh with somebody...cry with somebody...make someone's day...pray…be someone's answer to prayer...don't give up...don't ever give up. 

God loves you...He is the God of the improbable inviting you to experience the impossible.

 Be...Do...Live

Empty Temples

The downtown churches in some of our cities have the most amazing architecture you will ever see. As you stroll around downtown you will come upon church after church that will astound you. One day when I was running through one of these cities I decided to do my five miles by running from church to church. Many had really high steeples so all I had to do was watch the skyline for the tall structures. As I ran up to the buildings I would read the plaques on the sides or fronts of the buildings that gave me a little of the history…things like...what year it was built and who the architect was. 

I could just see a typical Sunday morning, many years ago, where literally thousands of people streamed into downtown to attend worship in these beautiful temples. The music and worshipful voices must have hung thick in the air. I could imagine how the people would pour out of the churches after services and flow out into the surrounding communities carrying the Light of the world.

These magnificent buildings had been built to glorify God…to be places where a city would join in worship…to be a light to the world around them…places of hope, encouragement, and healing.

But now many of these incredible structures stand empty on Sundays…many have only a handful of people that attend…some of the churches have been saved only for their historical value and stand empty...some shine no light at all…for others that light has been severely dimmed…some are no longer even churches...so many dark, empty, and powerless temples. The once thriving Sunday worship has become a mere whisper in the city. 

I looked around me and in just a few blocks in almost any direction and I could see poverty…literally miles and miles of hurting people. ...some desperate…many angry…many hopeless. The sounds I could hear were sirens and the buzz of a nearby freeway. The poverty level astounding...the crime rate appalling...I thought how incredibly sad that these magnificent temples were not filled with people who would pour out of them every week and make a difference in this city…filling it with the light of God’s love....bringing healing to this hurting community.

As I stood staring at one of the empty temples a scripture settled over me “They had a form of Godliness but lacked the power”.  I was sadden that these unbelievable buildings have a form of godliness but lack the power to change this city. And then...I had this overwhelming sense of God saying to me  "I do not live in temples made of stone....I live in you...you are my temple and you were built by a pretty good architect. Don’t allow yourself to become like these dark empty temples….don’t allow My temple to be ineffective…don’t let My light go dim in your life…don’t look godly but lack My power. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead…dwells in you. Go...make a difference."

New Things

I used to think 60 was a time for old men...
Now I'm finding its a place where new things can begin...
I can choose old... and then there is just...older
I can choose new...and live even bolder
I choose new...

Not by Performance

Jesus saves

Jesus saves me

Jesus has saved me

Jesus is saving me

Jesus will always be saving me

I am saved…

My Salvation is not based on my performance.  Its based on God's and He doesn't have any bad days!

God Responds to Men Like Me

"God is famous for responding to men like me...a man who seeks Him...He is decking me out in delight...He has completely surrounded me with His shield of favor..."Ps 5:12 (The Message).
 His pursuit of me has given me a passion to live powerfully...to be steady...to be faithful...to seize this gift...a life worth living.
This life...I fervently embraced.

Painting with God

I had been praying…talking to God about how I want things to go…but it seemed a lot was not going the way I thought it should go…I only wanted good things…things I was sure would please Him…I would set my mind on them…pray about them…but they would not go the way I thought they should…or even they way I thought God would want them to go…this kept occurring.


One morning, while praying, I realized…He is not saying “No”. Instead He has been trying to get me to see things from His perspective…to see that He has a much bigger plan…His plan to do things in a different way…in ways I had not considered…It had not seemed that I would get what I was looking for if I continued down His path.

And then I had this thought…It’s like I’ve been painting in a little room called “My life the way I see it.” But God had been inviting me into a much larger room…the one where He is painting…”My life the way He sees it.” It s a really big room… a room of brilliant colors and endless possibilities…and…a room where I don’t know how things will work out…He is asking me to paint with Him… to trust Him…to let Him work out the details.

So sometimes, I  still find myself painting away in a little room…a place where I have become preoccupied...again... with how I want things to go...trying really hard to get things just right…then I will hear His voice...often just a whisper above the noise of my life… “Don’t settle…Stop painting in these little rooms…they have such limitations…I am down the hall…painting a really big room…using broad bold strokes that extend beyond where you are able to see…Come…paint with Me.”

Off the Hook

I have a friend who exhibits many of the godly attributes that I would like to attain. One is the easy way he forgives. Once there was something between us that I had caused. I called him and ask for his forgiveness. He was so gentle with his words. There was no I forgive you "but" used or implied. His forgiveness was so instant that it already seemed past tense. I knew that he had allowed me to be totally "off the hook." On that day I realized that God's forgiveness is just like that. He gives it easily and it is so instant that it is always past tense! God never has to decide if He is going to forgive us. That was done over 2000 years ago on the cross where all my sins were crucified with Him. Our sins have been (past tense) forgiven.

Imagine if in all our relationships that forgiveness was so instant…so complete that the supposed wrongs were simply not allowed to exist. What if we carried no grudges, didn't allow ourselves to exist in regrets, believed there were no justifiable resentments and let everyone, including ourselves, “off the hook”…instantly. Seems improbable and even impossible.

Jesus was asked if we should forgive someone seven times. His reply was “No we should forgive them “seventy times seven”. Lets face it. Most of us struggle enough with forgiving the first time. The second time is really tough and that’s reserved for those we really really care about. I don’t think the third one occurs very often and according to Jesus, when it comes to totally letting people "off the hook", we have 487 more forgiveness-es to go!

Sometimes we carry the poisons of resentment and unforgiveness because we simply do not want to let the person who has offended us "off the hook". And these poisons weaken us. While trying in this vain attempt to punish the other person we limit joy and peace from being fully expressed in our lives.

Don't confuse forgiveness with responsible living. We forgive a thief but we don't allow them access to the cash register until they have shown that they are no longer a thief. We forgive an abuser but we don't allow ourselves or our families to be in situations or locations where bad things could happen. And at the same time, don't we shouldn't try to replace forgiveness with simply living responsibly while carrying loads of resentment in our heart. Forgiveness sets us free!

Forgive easily…no "buts"...remove the poison....forgive instantly... release your joy...allow someone to be “off the hook”.

Letting Yourself "Off the Hook"

I once wrote most of the note below to a friend..someone who doesn't think that highly of themselves and who I happen to think is amazing. I wanted to remind them that loving yourself is essential to being able to really love the people in our lives. As I was reading this today I thought about how many of us struggle with this same thing.

 

It seems that this world is a difficult place to "love yourself". To allow this kind of thinking you must work against a current of words and thoughts that want to take you in a completely different direction.

I was thinking about Jesus words "love your neighbor as yourself". I am learning that you cannot give what you do not posess and how loving yourself really does increase your capacity to love others.

Also, you know how you set yourself free when you let go of resentments that you have for others? I have found that the same is true when I let go of resentments for myself...for things I have done or choices I have made. I have learned that embracing my life...my entire life...owning it...being thankful for it...these things are essential steps toward learning to love me. The me God created.

When you let go of resentments that you have held against yourself you essentially have let yourself "off the hook" and in so doing you free yourself up to love, forgive, and accept yourself and those around you in a much greater capacity.

You are an amazing and lovable person...let yourself off the hook and open the door to a new realm of loving.

Daisy

Hi Daisy,

Welcome to our little world.  I saw one of your first pictures today. It was your first of many I'm sure. This is a pretty long trip so its okay to get lots of pictures. I wanted to write you a quick note and tell you just how excited we all are that you are here.  

I was thinking of all the things I would like to tell you about this life that you have begun. I thought long and hard and decided that if I could help you understand this one thing that the rest of your journey would be immeasurably more peaceful. Its something so many have forgotten and an absolute must for a new little Daisy. It's about rain.

When it rains...play in it!

Mess

There is a palm tree beside the pool. It’s tall and beautiful and it does one thing I do not like. It drops all these little flowers in the pool every time there is any wind. When I go out and see all that mess in the pool I have to get it out. It just does not look right…it just looks messy.

The other day I went out to the pool and sure enough it was cluttered with the stuff from the palm tree. I got the net, cleaned it all out, and the pool was beautiful. I got in, swam around a bit, and then got on one of those great floats that, when you lay on them, will submerge just below the surface of the water so you can stay cool.

I’m sure you have already figured out what occurs next. Just as I got real comfortable on that float a big wind came up and the little flowers begin to fall…almost like snow. They covered the pool and me.

I sat for a while looking up at that tree and thinking about what had just happened. I realized that Palm tree is doing exactly what it is suppose to do. There is nothing wrong here. I got this same revelation awhile back about a Pecan tree that loses its limbs at inopportune times and they fall on inconvenient (for me) places.

However, my revelation this time was a little different. Here it is:

Sometimes…when you are doing exactly what you are suppose to do…to those that do not understand your purpose…it just looks like a big mess in the pool!

Biscuits

Those who know my mom have probably had her marvelous biscuits but you may not know about the best ones she ever made.

I was entering the 6th grade. Things were tough financially so we had moved into a farmhouse in East Texas. It was a year of eating lots of beans. Dad had to work long hours on a low paying job. So low paying that he taught me how to hunt, kill and clean rabbits and squirrels for our meat. I should probably add here that I have never even once thought of ever doing those things again. Meat comes to me in packages the way God intended.

The farmhouse had a fireplace in the living room where all five of us kids slept on the really cold nights. It was my job to have enough firewood cut and ready for those cold nights. And there were times when I did not bring in enough. Mom would send me back out in the middle of the night to get more if we ran out. I would take my dog, my flashlight, and my axe and go try to find a fallen tree that I could cut up. The cold was brutal. I remember one particularly cold night when I had such a hard time finding enough wood. I was so cold and so tired when I finally had enough and was able to lay back down. The next morning I woke up to the smell of Mom's biscuits. Mom had made biscuits from water and flour and she had made syrup with sugar and water. Maybe my best meal ever.

Now when I think about how she survived those days…. scratching meals together…chasing snakes off the back porch…coming face to face with a half-breed bobcat on the same porch…all the pressures and demands that came with 5 children, an angry and disillusioned husband, and we never missed a meal.

Two weeks before Mom left for heaven I had called her and told her that I would be at her house every Tuesday morning at 7:30 for breakfast. The next Tuesday she made a big pan of her wonderful biscuits. She invited my sisters over…it was a great morning. The next Sunday she got dressed for church but instead went into the hospital. I got to talk with her after she was checked into the emergency room. She looked so good. She was excited about the coming Tuesday. I told her she did not have to go all out every Tuesday...she said "Okay" but I knew she would anyway. We talked that day about how God is our friend.. She said "He is...He really is my friend." Then they came to take her for some test. I would never hear her sweet loving voice again…there would be no more Tuesdays. I know that God gave me one last breakfast with my Mom…one last really good conversation in the ER…He was paving the way for me to handle what was coming.

I visited her the next Wednesday night. She did not look good. I went home very unsettled. I told my wife “she will not be coming home.” And I spent some time in a deep sadness. I didn’t know why I felt that way but now I know it was God again preparing me.

The next morning I went by to see her before I went to work. But instead of a visit I was suddenly standing by her bed…telling her I loved her…I know she could hear me…her heart was slowly giving up…my sisters and other family rushed to be with us…we sang to her…her breathing heavy…and then…she left for heaven. I stood by her bed for a long time…I held her lifeless hand…it was amazingly soft…I thought of all the things those hands had done for me…I don’t remember ever having held my moms hand…maybe they were always busy… I miss her this morning…I’m so glad she feels no more pain…but I want to talk to her today… sadness has settled over me…I want to have biscuits with her…this friend of God.

Dive

Last night I was standing by the pool…it was late…a nice breeze was blowing. I decided I wanted to get in the water but I hesitated at the edge. I knew it was going to be a cold rush and I really didn’t want to go through that whole cold thing that happens when you first get in the water. But instead of letting myself dwell on the idea of how cold it was going to be…I dove…and it was cold. I swam fast to other end of the pool turned around and swam back and by the time I reached for the edge I was not cold anymore. As a matter of fact the water felt amazing. The sky looked all cool with clouds passing over the moon…the breeze felt even better…and the water was great!

I thought about how many of the really good things in life require a dive. We want to experience the best there is but sometimes we stand at the edge too long while we try to sort through things…can we risk losing what we do have…then we talk ourselves out of it. We go back and sit down where we are warm and comfortable. All we can do at this point is dream about the possibilities…wonder what might have been…but we know we have settled for less. We hesitated so we could try to set up the perfect plan…to reduce the discomfort…but the perfect plan was going with your instincts…leaping into the unknown…experiencing the cold…and then suddenly realizing that the very elements you feared have changed and are working for you!

Get up…walk over to the edge…believe there is more…and…dive.

Be The Tree

There is a tree that I walk by every morning. It is there everyday. Standing tall. Doing exactly what it is suppose to do. It has really gnarly and beautiful branches all twisted together. Its arms lift high in praise as they reach for the life of the sun. Roots’ go deep as they search for and receive the nutrients it needs for life. It is so faithful to just do and be what it was created to do…everyday. No matter the winds, the rain, the cold or heat, no matter if people notice or just walk by, it stands tall, does what it was created to do…everyday. I want to be like the tree.

Flying

I am only scratching the surface of what is available to me. There are infinite possibilities that are before me and I am limited only by my faith…by my willingness to consider new possibilities…to step into new ways of thinking.

Once when Jesus and His disciples were taking a boat across the sea a storm came up. It was a really frightening storm and the disciples were beginning to fear for their lives. However, Jesus, their leader, the miracle worker, was asleep in the boat. They woke Him up and said “Master we are about to die! Don’t you care?” He said to them “Don’t you have any faith?”

Sounds like a conversation I have had with God. “God, don’t you care” and He says “Don’t you have any faith”. It also sounds like many situations in life where I have “woke Him up” so to speak and demanded that He save me when all the while He is thinking “You can handle this storm…you can maneuver this boat…you are not going to die…you can do this…I have given you the wisdom and the power to handle situations like this… even to speak peace into a storm.



With this picture in my mind I have begun to approach each days challenges with more courage. I am letting go of every single preconceived idea of God and of myself. And I find that as I am walking and I do not grow weary, I am running and I do not faint, I am mounting up with wings as an eagle. I’m flying

Shine

My mornings continue to be extraordinary. As I run I allow my heart and mind to move into new places where I experience more of God. I am recognizing Him in more places. He is Omni-present so He is in everything and yet He is everything. He displays millions of expressions of Himself everyday through every living thing. I am one of those expressions of God. He has ask me to be salt and bring flavor to the world, to be and to release the brilliant colors of life that are available through Him and He made me to be light, so He very intentionally places me in moments of darkness and brokenness and says “Shine”.

Rain

I had worked late and my enthusiasm was low about doing my morning run. I started thinking maybe I shouldn’t do it. I was going to be working another 12 hour day and would need my strength. I knew the truth though. Go run and get your blood running and charge into this day instead of dragging through the morning.


As soon as I made that decision I heard thunder. Now I had a really good reason to not go. I looked outside and it was not raining yet. Knowing how rain moves all around us here in Texas I decided to go for it. I could probably do my entire run before it started.

I put on my running shoes and walked outside into the cool morning and knew I had made the right decision.

About that time the first raindrops began to greet me…one more chance to go back into the warm house. Instead I took off determined to do my four miles…and the rain came down. Big fat Texas rain. I looked straight up in the sky...the big drops crashing all around me...and I ran.

I thought about how I talk about rain. My words are usually about what rain is going to prevent me from doing or how it is going to interrupt my plans. Although, like most people, I enjoy a good rain when I’m sitting under a covered patio with a cup of coffee in my hands and nowhere I need to be. But most of my conversation about rain is negative. As though rain is not supposed to happen or that rain is a bad thing.

My experience on this morning could be a good one or a bad one and it all depended on one thing…the story that I would tell myself about rain.

So I let the rain hit my face and thanked God for how great it felt on my skin. There was a tremedous freedom that came with running into rain and allowing it to just soak me...and realizing that I had been missing this wonderful experience. Why do we grow up and forget how much fun it is to get wet? When did getting wet become an inconvenience?

I create my own realities. Everything, every situation, every event, even every person in my life is, for me, the story I tell myself about them. Which like the rain…my thoughts are not reality…they are not the entire story…they are just the ones I’m choosing to express at the moment. I can go from exasperating frustration to peaceful appreciation by simply by my choice of words.

What a great morning!

Big Yellow Miracles

Recently my two-year-old granddaughter was outside with me. We live right across the street from a high school and many school busses go back and forth from the school everyday. They are very loud and can hold you up if you are trying to get in or out of the neighborhood. Every time one went by she got so excited and would say in barely intelligible words “Big School Bus!” After about a dozen times I said “Yea a school bus!” She looked at me and gently corrected me” BIG School Bus”. I got it.


The Bigness of the School bus was the thing. It was down right amazing to a little two year old. It never occurred to her that they were too loud. Of course they were loud. They’re huge! They’re not an inconvenience. They’re a freaking yellow miracle rolling down the street!

I had to ask my self this question. “When did I forget that a big huge yellow school bus was a pretty amazing thing to see?” I had been seeing them everyday and missed that they actually had a beauty…a coolness…and amazing factor.

What is really phenomenal about this is that my brain reacts to whatever thoughts I feed it and my entire being is affected. My countenance, my attitude and my energy are dictated by the words I am choosing to think and say.

I am in total control of this process. I can change how I feel, about anything, by changing what I think about it. I can go from exasperating frustration to peaceful appreciation by simply changing my words…about anything…even big school buses.

Now I might decide I really don’t want to live where the school buses run every morning and that’s okay. But I can’t see them now without smiling because my story about school buses has forever changed. “Big School Bus!!!!

Morning Dancer

I’ve become quite the morning dancer. I’m out before sun up and moving with the wind. It is most powerful. I have found myself entering a completely new place with creation, the heavens…God. My images of Him, even though they were very big and powerful, I have found to be limiting. He is greater than my most incredible imaginations. So I run…stretch…reach…run sideways…run backwards…I even spin around to the music…its like flying…and it has become my morning dance with God.