Glimpses

I sometimes catch glimpses of a life more fulfilled. 

A place where a difference is made, help is given, abilities are used to their fullest, and joy abounds.  

I suppose that place can be anywhere, if I see each day with its own purpose.  

Each day with its own opportunities.  

Each day with its own needs and design.  

Open my eyes...

Words Enough

Are there words enough to share with others

Words enough to keep to myself

Are there words enough to teach my children

Words enough to stack on a shelf

There are words that fly so fast and so furious

Words that rise and fall

Words that are so full of questions and curious

Words that can feel so small

Are there words enough to hold us together

Words that don't tear apart

Are there words enough to make us each better

What is the place we should start

I Am More Than My Job Title

I didn't create the job title.

I applied for it, and I got the job.

Now, how do I move beyond it?

If a hiring manager looks at the job title, will they dismiss me based on the apparent size of the jump I need to make in order to reach their posting?  Will I lose out on an opportunity I am more than qualified for, simply because my title is seemingly small in stature and responsibility?

I have read in other places, about the skills acquired simply from being a parent:  organizational skills, scheduling, menu planning, budgeting, negotiation, diplomacy, counseling, to name a few.  But can you really include those on a resume?

If I haven't managed people in an office setting, but have managed people in a household, does that mean I have mangerial experience?

If I have listened to different sides of an argument or discussion, and tried to help both sides come to an agreement, do I have negotiation skills?

If I have looked at a week's schedule, knowing transportation is limited, as is time, and figured out how to get people to various places, does that count as scheduling experience?

These are just some things I have been thinking about recently.  As I try to find my way in the working world, to support my family and gain a little ground in this race, I understand it is not about notoriety or wealth.  But I want to do my best to keep learning, find new adventures, and most of all, love my family.

Vote for God?

I saw this on a church sign recently...

"Not happy with the candidates?  Vote for God!"

I get the idea behind the statement, and that some churches feel the need to have catchy sayings to attract people's attention, but something about this just doesn't sit well with me.

If you know God, you know He doesn't need our vote.  He doesn't want our vote.  He wants us.  He wants our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Luke 10:27

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

God's future doesn't depend on whether or not we choose Him.  Our future depends on whether or not we follow Him.  This doesn't imply getting a bumper sticker, going to church meetings, and contributing financially is what it means to follow Him.

It goes way beyond that, and yet not...

Love.  If we love Him, we will obey Him.  If we love Him, we will serve Him.  If we love Him, we will follow Him.  Without fanfare or recognition, but with humility and kindness. And if we love Him, we will love others... And they will know we are His disciples by our...

Love

Heaven help us. . .

As we continue in this direction

As we wait on solutions for greed and pride

As we listen to words spoken, promises made and promises broken

Heaven help us

As we look for the answers, but not quite high enough

As we talk through the problems that seem too insurmountable

As we hope for justice and truth to come forward

Heaven help us

Help us lift our eyes

Help us speak Your words

Help us trust and see that You know

That You are

I AM

Help us

For the Invisible Ones

The pull of wanting to be seen

And yet wanting to blend in

The struggle of walking outside with a smile

Or staying in your room with a book or paintbrush or pen

The reality that life is to be lived and experienced

Paired with the reality that life can be scary and lonely

Looking at those traveling the same path

Wondering if anyone else struggles with

The pull of wanting to be seen

And yet wanting to blend in

The Beginning of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday.

On the church calendar, this marks the beginning of Lent.  A season to prepare our hearts for the coming remembrance of the death of Christ, and the celebration of His resurrection.  For some it can be time to give up certain things - perhaps to join in the suffering of Christ by sacrificing some habit or item that we hold perhaps, a little too closely. 

Chocolate
Certain TV shows
Certain language
Soft drinks
Red meat

You get the idea.

Are these really sacrifices?  Or are they ways we make ourselves feel like we are contributing something, you know, "doing our part" to remember...

Jesus knew what was coming.  He went in to Jerusalem the week before His death, knowing the pain, suffering and sacrifice He would endure.  And He still went. 

For us.

To pay a debt we could not pay.

To conquer something we could not even begin to fight.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."
Acts 2:21-24