Her water broke!

My girlfriend Carrie had her baby yesterday after quite an exciting and unexpected turn of events that lead to baby James coming almost a month early! Everybody is doing fine.

So Emily and Alaina were over at Auntie's house when she called the two girls into the kitchen to share the good news, "Girls, Mrs. Carrie's water broke and she had to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She's going to have her baby today."

The girls looked at Auntie excited and with a tad bit of confusion on their faces as they left the kitchen. A few moments later my beautiful girl says, "Auntie, why did Mrs. Carrie call an ambulance? If her water broke, shouldn't she have called a plumber?"

Thoughts for the day...

We have to be braver than we think we can
Because God is constantly calling
Us to be more than we are.
~Madeleine L'Engle



How we spend our days is of course,
How we spend our lives.
There is no shortage of good days,
It is good lives that are hard to come by.
~Annie Dillard

I still love newspapers

Here is a ROFL article from Friday's Chicago Tribune. I don't care what people say...I still love reading the newspaper(s) in the morning.

I'm done! Almost...

This coming Tuesday I've been asked to talk to a Coffee Break group at their annual Lenten Breakfast. They didn't give me any topic, just a date and a time and a request that we also have a time of worship. I was honored and challenged...and I haven't slept much past 5:30am for the last 2 weeks trying to prepare. It seems the only time I can study, write or meditate is before the sun comes up and the noises of the day start. As soon as one of my cherubs walks down the stairs my concentration is gone and it's all over. Why is that?

This is not the first time I've spoken to a large group of women, thanks to my friend Jen, who allowed me to come and talk about how to have great sex at her MOPS group. But this is the first time I've been allowed to bring a "message." And the more I search myself, the more I realize that I've longed to be a minister for most of my life. That idea actually cost me a boyfriend back in college...when I mentioned the idea at his parent's dinner table I thought his dad was gonna need a the Heimlich maneuver...it was entertaining!

This morning after I had typed the last word of my talk I had an overwhelming fear of being trite or uninspiring. All of my insecurities flooded over me with the kind of emotional weight you can actually feel. And even though I'm convinced that God has brought me to this place of honor and fulfilling purpose...the fear of being completely not up to the task rages inside of me. It's as if I'm afraid to accept the gift I'm being offered...the gift of purpose...what if I'm wrong? What if I fail?

Do I have the faith to trust God...to really believe he loves me enough to create me with specific talents, insights and has a design for my life. Sometimes it seems easier to do things that I'm not personally invested in because I have nothing to lose.

I covet your prayers tonight. I'm in the middle of a search for God's purpose for my life. In the middle of a search for the next step. Searching for the courage to listen and obey. But then that's a whole different post.

Two of my pet peeves...

#1 Getting woke up at 2AM by children who should know better...and then not being able to fall back asleep.

#2 Finally accepting you're not going back to sleep only to have one or two of the children get up way too early and interrupt the glorious quiet that was filling the house.

What keeps you from hearing?

The question this morning was, "What blocks you from hearing God's voice?

It dawned on me that the clutter of my life-my house-my body stand in the way of my listening and hearing. The mess around me and the body image that I carry with me keep my focus here...on myself...selfishly...disallowing my thoughts to be focused on God. This is a frightening confession because it requires action.

I wonder if this strikes a chord with anyone? Does this ring as truth? If you stop and give this thought some time...what have you built into your life that keeps you from hearing God's voice? Do you see it as selfishness or helplessness? Could it be that holding one to the things you despise most about yourself is actually an act of selfishness instead simply a weakness or character flaw? Do we purposely, yet subconsciously, hold on to circumstances, surroundings, thoughts, images, beliefs or weaknesses in order to isolate ourselves from God's voice? To play God...

I believe that often we are the biggest road block in our relationship with God. Is the fear of action greater than the desire for acceptance... Is the fear of failure greater than the hope of living in Truth...of knowing who we are as God's daughters?

Authenticity

The most visible creators I know of
are those artists whose
medium is life itself.
The ones who express
the inexpressible--without brush,
hammer, clay or guitar.
They neither paint nor sculpt--
their medium is being.
Whatever their presence touches
has increased life.
They see and don't have to draw,
they are the artists of being alive.

J. Stone