God Is Greater Than Our Worried Hearts – Lectio Divina

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.

It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it.

For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

1 John 3: 18-20 – The Message

 God is greater than our worried hearts

Lord, You are greater than I can ever imagine.

Greater than my worries.

Greater than my fears.

Greater than my accomplishments.

Greater than my failures.

Greater than my self-criticism.

Greater than my knowledge.

Greater than any talent or skill I possess.

Great.  

Greater. 

Greatest.

Thank You for being so huge to swallow up my sin.

Thank You for Your strong, protecting Shepherd arms.

Thank you for your immeasurable grace and enormous heart of love.

You, O Lord, abolish my worries from my heart and grant us Your peace.

Thank You for being Greater.

THE MAN IN THE ARENA - Quote of the Week

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Teddy Roosevelt

What is Your Legacy? Five Lessons from Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop

As I wrote last week, I attended Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in Dayton. What a wonderful time of laughter, networking, new friendships, and useful knowledge.

Many of the workshops focused on social media and growing your online presence, so the topics were very current. We were inspired by the keynote presenters, all nationally recognized writers and columnists.

A special moment at each of the meals occurred when Erma’s family members shared their favorite Erma column.

Erma lives on in every writer there and every reader who enjoys her words. What a legacy and gift to all of us.

Research shows that without a sense of working to create a legacy, adults lose meaning in their life. The word legacy comes from the late 14^th century Latin and actually means “body or persons sent on a mission, such as ambassador or envoy.” In the late 15^th century in Scotland, the word began to mean the property left by will to another.

Interesting roots to this word, isn’t it?  What is the message of our mission we leave behind? Legacies become priceless and special gifts passed on from one person to another, one generation to the next. The focus isn’t upon the death of someone, but what they leave living one in another.

This is what I think a legacy is:

Legacy is the story of one person’s spirit inscribed upon another person’s soul.

Erma Bombeck gave us a legacy of laughter but so much more. Through her books, columns, video clips, and conference, we find encouragement, wisdom and a strong bond among friends.

Here are five lessons I learned at the conference last week:

1. Our words create strong and deep connections with others. What we say and do touches people’s hearts. Maybe the result is simply a smile, but could also change or save a life. Words are priceless and powerful tools of encouragement.

2. Failure is an opportunity to grow and learn. Erma said, ”You fail a lot more that you succeed, and how you handle it determines whether or not you become a writer.” Life produces many possibilities and if you want to life a full life, you have to take hold of a few risks and ride along for its adventure. If you fall off, pick yourself back up and try again.  Live a life with tenacity and grit.

3.  Believe in yourself and develop the voice within you. Many presenters talked about our writers' voice and even for non-writers, finding and expressing our true self is a life long journey.

4. “Great dreams... never even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, "How good or how bad am I?" That's where courage comes in.”  A great lesson from Erma.   

She also said, “ It is probably true that every person has a book in him fighting to get out. What is crucial is that if something is going to happen, the wannabe writer has to commit by putting all those hopes and dreams on the line. It’s time to stop talking about clever titles and get the book written.”

Ouch! I needed to have those two quotes pounded into my thick skull.  So often we let life and excuses kill our dreams.

5. Take time to laugh and enjoy this life God has given us. Spread more joy.  Let’s smile, giggle, chuckle, chortle, and hoot a little bit more. Erma wrote, “In writing humor for more than thirty years, I have observed there are some people whose laughter is aerobic. It starts in the back of their throats, their cellulite starts to shake, and as their heads fall back, sound emerges from their lips that is heard in three zip codes.”   

Leaving a legacy of encouragement, belief in self, guts, grit, and grins  - that is what Erma left us.

What do you think are great elements in a legacy?

Mind Your Ps and Qs

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here.   It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate.

This fun meme has now progressed to the letter P

Minding my Ps

 Minding your Ps and Qs.  Ever wonder about that expression?

According to The Phrase Finder, the origin of this Phrase is unknown, but can be dated as far back to the early 1600s. Perhaps we can ponder a pair of possibilities:

1.  Printers apprentices often confused the backward facing metal type lower cases letters of P and Q and were warned frequently to watch for those mistakes. Even now when we write the lower care p and q, it matters where we draw the line.

2. Some historians think Ps and Qs refer to pints and quarts as in drinking our ale or it might refer to minding your pea (jacket) and queue (wig). Pea jackets were short rough woolen overcoats, commonly worn by sailors in the 18th century. Perruques were full wigs worn by fashionable gentlemen

I was surprised to find out how many words start with the letter P. One website reported that in the entire world there were 260 millions words beginning with this letter. No wonder I had such a hard time picking prizes from such a plentiful pool.

I should be serious and write something about Prayer or Passion or Pious Ponderings, but am going to let you peek into my latest pleasure: Pinterest.

Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pinterest is a popular social media phenomenon. Pinterest is a picture saving website where you create theme based boards and “pin” or save an image to them. For example I have a board to collect ideas for remodeling my sunroom. I also gather inspirational quotes I like, places I want to visit and my favorite books. By looking at other people’s boards I get more ideas. 

It is like tearing pages out of a magazine or clipping an article you like and tacking it on your bulletin board. This is much more organized and easy to keep.

But I am discovering other benefits. I am connecting with new people, exploring this site is pleasurable, and I love having images for my dreams. BUT I do need to minds my Ps and Qs and draw the line at the right place or I will be prone to procrastinate on Pinterest and my priorities will be on pause permanently.

Perhaps I have pushed the P word beyond prolonged on this page and have you partially paralyzed in pain or in peril of unsubscribing from reading this blog. (Please don’t) My purpose was only to perk you up, not plummet you into pointlessness.

I will end with my two favorite Peas in a Pod: my precious progenies (twin grandsons):

Do you have a fun and favorite word that begins with the letter P?

Good News Too Wild to Believe - Lectio Divina

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.

He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Luke 24: 36-43

They still did not believe it because of joy and amazement

My doubts melt in Your presence, Lord.

You stand before me – alive.

You are here, right in front of me.

Tears of joy are my only obstacles to clearly seeing You.

I shake my head and wonder about this incredible event.

Jesus is alive!

Lord, sometime in my prayers I do question if You are listening.

Lord, I go about my day, often forgetting You. Ignoring Your presence. Neglecting Your word.

I cling to my uncertainties and nagging questions instead of seeking You.

Yet Your light seeps through my darkness and Your hand gently pulls me back into Your warm embrace.

You are alive!

You are here, right in front of me!

Tears of joy are my only obstacles to clearly seeing You.

I shake my head and wonder about this incredible event.

Like the disciples at Your appearance to them, my joy and amazement overwhelm my disbelieving heart.

You are alive.

What astonishing and inconceivable delight!

Jesus is alive.

Trees – God’s Temples – John Muir Quote

. Public domain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. 

But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves. 

No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself.”

― John Muir

Leaving a Legacy of Joy – Erma Bombeck

Photo from Pinterest

I am excited. I leave today to travel about three hours south of my home in northwest Ohio to attend the Erma Bombeck Writers Conference in Dayton. This wonderful workshop is offered every two years and focuses on Erma’s legacy of great writing, especially as a columnist and a humorist.

The Bombeck Workshop is the only one in the country devoted to both humor and human-interest writing and is sold out each time it is offered. It features more than two dozen professional humor and human-interest writers on its faculty, offering sessions on the craft of writing, turning an interest into a profession, marketing, publishing and more.  

And you’re guaranteed to laugh. A lot.  Did I mention laughing? Lots of laughter.

What is it about Erma’s writing that still brings smiles to our hearts? I want to be a writer like her. Maybe I can bring back a few of her secrets to share next week, but I thought in honor of Erma we all could sit back and enjoy some of her words today:

·      If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it.

·      In two decades I've lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.

·      Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.

·      One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is.

·      People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you'll feel comfortable wearing. Allow for room to grow.

·      Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop offs at tedium and counter productivity. 


·      When mothers talk about the depression of the empty nest, they're not mourning the passing of all those wet towels on the floor, or the music that numbs your teeth, or even the bottle of capless shampoo dribbling down the shower drain. They're upset because they've gone from supervisor of a child's life to a spectator. It's like being the vice president of the United States.

·      I’m trying very hard to understand this generation. They have adjusted the timetable for childbearing so that menopause and teaching a sixteen year old how to drive a car will occur in the same week.

Erma left us all a legacy of wisdom and joy. That is the kind of legacy I would love to leave too -  A path lit by God’s joy and guided by His wisdom to make our journeys here brighter.

How about you? What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

Ten Quotes about Optimism

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here.   It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate.

This fun meme has now progressed to the letter O

O = Optimist

 I haven’t always been an optimist. In fact I think I am wired quite the opposite.

But as an adult I decided optimism as a trait appealed to me; thus began my search to develop this characteristic. Uphill battle, let me tell ya!

I collect optimism – quotes, stories and even have given a few presentations about the value of being positive. Being a nurse, I have seen the difference in the healing and recovery of people with optimism as compared to the pessimist state of mind. 

With today’s letter of the alphabet being O, I thought I would share a few fun things I have read about this encouraging word:  Optimism comes from the Latin word for best. An optimist expects the best in the world.

I think the best optimist is not just a Polly Anna “everything is rosy” type, but one who also has her feet firmly rooted in the ground.

Here are ten of my favorite quotes about Optimism:

•  I’d rather be an optimist and a fool that a pessimist and right. Albert Einstein

• A pessimist complains about everything. An optimist expects it to change and a realist adjusts their sails. William Arthur Ward.

• Remember a pessimist’s blood type is always B-. Unknown 

• An optimist is the human personification of spring.  ~Susan J. Bissonette

• In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip.  ~Daniel L. Reardon

• Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
  Martin Luther

• The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead. Robert Brault

• Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. -  John Wooden

• So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. – Christopher Reeve

And a funny poem to end with today:

Between the optimist and the pessimist,

the difference is droll.

The optimist sees the doughnut;

the pessimist the hole!

~ Oscar Wilde

Let’s keep our eyes on those doughnuts.  Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?

I Do Believe, Help My Unbelief – Lectio Divina

But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master."

But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it."

Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."

Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."

Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"

John 20: 24-28

Eight days later

Don't be unbelieving. Believe.

You know Lord, I have always felt a little sorry for Thomas.

He takes a lot of grief for his doubts. But he was certainly honest.

But as I read this today, Lord, what jumps out to me is You made him wait eight full days before You reappeared.  Eight days?

I wondered what he was thinking during that time. The rest of the disciples saw You. Heard You. Knew You were alive.

Why didn’t You come sooner and relieve poor Thomas of his doubts?  What was the point of waiting so long?

Did waiting deepen his faith? Did he start to ponder why he was the only one of Your special group left out of the good news? Did he pray during that time? Did he keep on believing?

Lord, I am like Thomas. I want to see You with my own eyes.

To touch You.

To see You.

To know You without doubts. 

Perhaps faith is believing in spite of unbelief. 

You knew when You would reappear to Thomas. You gave him time to dwell in his dark uncertainties seeking Your presence.

Did that pause intensify his desire for You?  Increase his longing to be with You?

Eight long agonizing days later You finally appear with these words,

Don't be unbelieving. Believe.

Lord, I am Thomas. I doubt. I struggle. I question why I can’t see You like others already have. I am impatient in the wait to be with You.

My heart drips with doubt as I cling to you message:  Believe

I do believe, help my unbelief.

Prayer by Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt (Photo credit: onecle)

Our Father, who has set a restlessness in our hearts and made us all seekers after that which we can never fully find, 

forbid us to be satisfied with what we make of life. 

Draw us from base content and set our eyes on far off goals.  

Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength. 

Deliver us from the fretfulness and self-pitying; make us sure of the good we cannot see and of the hidden good in the world. 

 Open our eyes to simple beauty all around us and our hearts to the loveliness men hide from us because we do not try to understand them.  

Save us from ourselves and show us a vision of the world made new.

Eleanor Roosevelt

     

What’s on Your Nightstand?

I am a reader.

I love books and am a firm believer in “there is no such thing as too many books.”

I am one of those readers with several books going at the same time. We are called “poly-readers.” I think it is easier to do that with non-fiction, my usual fare.

My husband laughs at me: I have books on the living room end table, the nightstand, on my desk and in my car. And yes I have a Kindle with several books in progress there too.

I heard on NPR the Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller say:

“I mean, I like the idea of books, not just this thing off to the side of our lives, but they're right in the midst of our lives. We're, in effect, living our fiction and our nonfiction. And you can do that when you're reading multiple books. You do kind of just get this idea that you're moving through this forest of words and stories and characters. It's not just this block of paper or a Kindle or an iPad sitting at your elbow. It's a part of your life. It's something you're moving through, just like you are the days of your own life.”

So what is on my nightstand right now? I have three books to share with you today, but first a quote from Francis Bacon:

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” 

The first book here is one to be tasted; the other two are great ones to chew and digest.

1.  Constantly Craving – How to Make Sense of Always Wanting More by Marilyn Meberg.

   I received this book through BookSneeze in exchange for a review and was really looking forward to reading it. Marilyn is a well-known Women of Faith speaker. Like many of us, I struggled with the urge to want more in life: more stuff, better relationships, and the basic restlessness of discontent.

  While Marilyn explores all these issues and gives some appropriate Biblical references, I found the book superficial and didn’t add much new knowledge to combat the longings.

  Her solution is best summarized in this quote: “There is only one answer to our craving for more meaning or more purpose in life, and that is God himself.” 

   We know that, but how to do we change our hearts and apply that to our cravings? This book didn’t do much to answer that question.

   

2.  One Thousand Gifts – Ann Voskamp.

   Ok, I hear you – I am a year behind many of you in reading this wonderful book. Now here is writing to sink your teeth into and slowly chew on to enjoy the flavor of each word.

    I read, reread, underlined, and enjoyed so many sentences multiple times. Ann is a powerful poetic writer.

   My small group has selected her book to study beginning next month and I can’t wait to dig into her writing again. Yes it was that good.

    Ann’s makes any reader a believer in the practice of gratitude in all things even the smallest ordinary items like bubbles in the kitchen sink. She opens our eyes to find God in our lives even the tragic and fragile moments.

   One Thousand Gifts is destined to be a Christian classic. I highly recommend it.

   

3. The Gifts of Imperfection – Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You are – a Guide to a Wholehearted Life by  Brene Brown.

   A few weeks ago I watched a TED Talk (if you are not familiar with TED talks  - there are brief informative lectures of a wide range of fascinating topics), I heard Brene Brown discuss “The Power of Vulnerability.” Her talk was humorous and leaves the listener empowered. She says vulnerability is not a weakness but “our most accurate measurement of courage.”

When she was done I knew I had to read her books. I downloaded on my Kindle her book on The Gifts of Imperfection and discovered another great book to digest.

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we will ever do.”

Brown discusses what living wholeheartedly looks like. Her definition is: it is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. “No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough” is her message.

She writes that the gifts of imperfection are courage, compassion, and connection. She gives the reader ten guideposts to lead our growing, such as cultivating authenticity, self-compassion and gratitude and joy.

Her book is very readable, but with deep roots to increase our awareness and understanding. She meets us where we are and encourages and empowers us to embrace ourselves as we are.

I “highlighted” many many sentences, full of wisdom in this book.

So that is what is on my nightstand. Have you read any good books lately?

A Golf Lesson for a Non-golfer

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here. It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate.

This fun meme has now progressed to the letter N

N = Never Give Up!

I don’t golf.


I don’t like golf.

I don’t watch golf.

I am not even good at miniature golf.

So what captivating me about Sunday’s climatic finish to the Masters Tournament?

To be honest I turned on the television to watch 60 Minutes. Where was my familiar tick-tick of the beginning of the show? Oh no! Stupid golf, the big tournament called the Masters, was still being broadcast.

They went into extra innings. Overtime. Ok, that isn’t what it is called, but again I don’t like golf. I laughed because when there is a tie, golfers are in sudden death. Couldn’t come soon enough for me. HA!

Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen were the two men in the finals. Never heard of them.

Bubba? What a name, I chuckled. But my sarcasm soon turned to respect. Bubba was dressed all in white with pink accents to bring awareness to children born with birth defects. Hey that is pretty cool of him.

Then Bubba gave me a golf lesson.

Both golfers tied once again on the first hole of sudden death.

The first shot of the second hole, Bubba hit his ball wildly into the woods. His ball was buried in pine needles amidst trees far from the green a 165 yards in the distance. He couldn’t even see where to aim his next shot. Hand that green coat to the other guy and go home, Bubba.

I would have given up. An impossible shot. Not even worth the time and energy to try at this point. Done. Over.

But not Bubba.

As he walked towards that hopeless next swing, Bubba and his caddy recalled their credo -- "If I have a swing, I've got a shot."  

Bubba didn’t give up. He hit a hook shot 40 yards right, rising 15 feet above the ground to sail through a small opening in the trees. The ball landed right on the green. A few minutes later, Bubba won the tournament.

“Yes!” I cheered. Me? Excited over golf? I have to confess I was.

And I learned a valuable lesson.

Never Give Up!

Bubba knew and trusted in his strengths.

He believed he could win and visualized the ending. I heard him say later, “I hit the shot I see in my head.”

He concentrated on what was in front of him - the next shot he had to make. The next step, not the final winning putt.

"I'm putting my head down between holes, not because I'm mad or disappointed, it's just because I'm trying to stay focused,” he said.

And the one who came in second place taught me a lesson too. Earlier in the game, Oosthuizen made what is commonly called the rarest shot in golf -- an albatross.  Now I have no idea what that type of shot is, but apparently it doesn’t happen very often and he never made one before in his career, but he did one that day.

Another impossibility.

Reminded me of the quote by St Francis of Assisi:

Start by doing what's necessary;

Then do what's possible;

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

And from Emily Dickinson:

Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.

Never Give up.

Never.