'As you go' life lessons

As you go - that's a term I use about life and knowing that integrating ALL of life, means doing what God wants AS you go about your daily life activities. Here is one such 'as you go' lesson I learned yesterday - because God speaks in the normal everyday things we do.

What can you learn from a one pot meal after a crazy couple of days at work?

1. In the right order things can be made simple.

I could have used multiple pots and then combined all the pieces, but instead, I created a process that allowed me to use a single pot for the whole thing!

Boil noodles and drain
Brown meat add back to the pot
Add sauce and spices
Mix in meat, noodles and cheese
Voila - One pot to clean!

2. Stirring many ingredients together will produce a better result than any one thing on its own.

This is true for recipes and teams. Get lots of ideas, bring the smart people in the room and watch the magic happen when they build upon an idea and make it even better.

3. Don’t freak out when it looks messy - trust the process.

Everything was coming together, but the cheese was stringy and it was looking like it would not melt. I started to freak out (even though it tasted good) aren't we silly creatures sometimes. But continued low heat and constant stirring did the trick and the consistency was perfect!

3. Patience produces a wonderful result!

Frustration started rising yet I persevered. And even through the heat - the test, the trial, the conflict and the challenges - if you keep your cool and let them do their work - temperature and pressure create beauty like diamonds and amazing dinners too because God knows what He is doing.

In the end I had dinner with my kids and the payoff was...I forgot about the stresses of the day and enjoyed hearing about their worlds.

What can you learn from making dinner for your family? Apparently a whole bunch!

Meltdowns

I have always been a "pleaser".  You know, the one who did what everyone else wanted in order to keep the peace.  I suppose I could blame that solely on having the motivational gift of being an exhorter with a heavy dose of mercy thrown in for good measure, but truthfully it also comes from being the only child of divorced parents.  I love my parents, but I learned very quickly from being in different houses, with different rules, different expectations and new siblings what was required to keep the peace. 

Giving thanks for the quiet - Day 20

Ok, so I have totally blown the blog a day thing I planned...Thanksgiving took its toll on my writing time, but I still intend to do this thing, so I will continue even though today is the 26th of November...what can I say, sometimes, life is well, a little off kilter - and so am I - my friends can attest to that.

So today I mentioned being thankful for the quiet.  There are several facets to this one for me as it was a busy holiday week with family - and friends who might as well be family (you know who you are).  My house was full of food, fun, laughter, smiles, hugs, whining, coughs, stomach aches, tears and frustrated people.  Norman Rockwell might not use us as a model for one of his paintings, but alas they are my family and I love them all.  The other side to this coin is that I have since learned that I can actually survive without a cell phone.  Shocker I know.  But it is possible.

A few weeks ago, my cell phone died and I have been using a backup phone with limited capability, so the latest water incident was preceded by a kind of weening myself into having no phone whatsoever.  My back up phone is currently residing in a rice bed within the confines of a ziplock bag and we are hoping for a revival in the next day or so.  But truthfully, I am not holding my breath. 

But I actually have survived now for almost 2 whole days without the use of a cell phone.  No email, no facebook, no blogging, no pictures, nothing.  Just silence.  A long commute in the morning usually accompanied by conversations with my friends, instead lead to an extended prayer conversation with my daddy.  It was awesome.  I am looking at the silver lining of this situation to remind me that life existed before cell phones and continues to go on despite my lack of communication technology.

So now I am sitting in a quiet home where the laughter and tears have left their lingering sounds only in my mind and enjoying the fact that I have been given the very awesome opportunity to be still and know that He is God.  I also know that I can ride in silence with my thoughts and I will survive in what initially seems like the deafening quiet.  At first is seems to be so loud that I may never be able to drown out all the voices, but eventually, the still, small, quiet voice of the Lord breaks through and the sound is sweet to my soul.

Thank you Lord for this precious experience.  May I never forget it and always seek to spend quiet time with you.  And may I appreciate my communication technology even more whenever I have access to it again! 

Trust

confident expectation of something; hope

Now that is a definition I can live with! Have you ever experienced issues with trusting someone or something? Maybe even trusting in something God has promised you?

I certainly have. And it is amazing just how awesome it is to set yourself free and trust in someone or in an idea, or in a promise! It does tell us in THE WORD that ALL of God's promises are yes and amen!

But one of the biggest problems we face is that we do not know what those promises are because - as my pastor pointed out yesterday - we do not know our promised land that exists for us today in the very living, breathing, word of God!

I am learning to trust in deeper ways than I ever imagined. God reminded me of a perfect example of just what it means to trust someone. Read on for more details...

We were on our way to a graduation party and ceremony, just my husband and me! It was a great day to ride the motorcycle so we headed out to the north GA mountains for a beautiful ride. It was pleasant, the sound of the motorcycle was soothing, and I was just enjoying being in God's beautiful playground! We took the back roads and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sights along the way. Well, about half way into the trip, I was soooooo at peace with my surroundings and my chauffeur that I actually fell asleep on the back of that motorcycle!

Crazy huh????

Riding 60+ miles an hour on the open road without anything holding me in place! Well, the fact of the matter is that I REALLY trust my husband! He is an awesome driver, and I feel totally at peace with him behind the wheel. How else could you explain sleeping on a motorcycle?

So the question is...Do I trust God that much? Can I simply let go and let HIM drive this roller coaster and peacefully rest while He takes me where He wants me to go? Can I sit in His lap with my head on His chest and just breathe - regardless of the circumstances? Can you?

If I can do that, then I have trumped my trials by trusting in the very one that deserves it most. He loves me, has a plan for me, and if I will just trust Him the way I trusted my husband - can you imagine what I can overcome...or what you can overcome?

To confidently expect that something good for my life is happening even now. To have and to give hope everywhere I turn! I want to try! How about you?