Author Archives: thehearteyes

Plowing the Soil of Hope

I can’t say that I’ve ever thought of myself as an earthworm, but maybe I’m something like that. They can be a gardener’s best friend and a fisherman’s best attraction.

Changing the structure of my environment by ‘digging through’ hardened soil, plowing it up and allowing air and water to get to seeds and roots of plants, sounds like my kind of atmosphere. Being a ‘fisher of people’ is another of my desires in life.

The past months I have gained quite a collection of stories, each with a real human who’s needed some cultivating in the soil of their heart. When you work with the poor and the broken, listening well and finding treasure within them that offers value can make all the difference in their world. Hope can be a life changer. Handing someone who’s so broken a lifeline of kindness can bring transformation.

A 30 year old woman who was living in a tent in someone’s back yard was one of these. In 110 daily temps it wasn’t camping for fun, it was survival. In my city. This needed transformation. Communication with her was difficult. She had no local cell phone. I had to leave messages with a family member in another state. She got messages when she could call them. Then I got a call from her grandfather, a kindly gentleman who shared my faith values. He was grateful that I cared. We prayed together for her. Several weeks went by and finally I heard from her. She’d made the choice to go back to her family, break an addiction, leave an unhealthy relationship and take her second chance. Hope was a gift that brought a new life.

Another, only 15, living with a foster mom. Obstinate in her attitude and making it clear she did not want to be talking with me. The atmosphere in the room shifted when we began to talk about her desires for the future. She wanted to be an FBI agent. She’d already contacted someone in Washington D.C. She assured me she had the grades for it and worked hard in school. The treasure I saw in her was courage. What an amazing young woman who had been dealt some rough hands in life and had her heart set on a tangible goal. It was significant for her to be assured she had great value. It not only brought a smile to her face, but she opened her heart to me. Suddenly, I could hardly get her to stop talking. What a delight to bring hope and watch it change her attitude. Will it matter as life goes forward for her? I choose to believe it will. Like an earthworm plowing and softening soil that was once hard.

Every opportunity to pour life-giving words into someone’s heart is significant.

Many of these stories are divine appointments and I am intensely aware of their need when they come to me. Other stories have come from learning to see with the eyes of my heart in the more routine moments of life. I’m learning to slow my pace so I have time to care and really listen to the checker at the grocery store. The one I’m drawn to each week seems to have a fake smile and more fake “I’m fine.” The first time I initiated a caring conversation brought a bucket load of information and a thank you that was genuine as we parted ways. It really took so little.

Simp garden for blog le acts. Kindness. Listening well. Caring. It’s that bit of earth plowed and softened for seed planting. I don’t know who to give credit to, but the statement is true. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Many are much better at this by nature than I am. The ones that are ‘lovers of people’. I’m drawn to them to ‘garden’ together. I tend to be in a hurry, have my list for the day, brush others off without really seeing them, forget that kindness matters. But I’m learning. It’s a process of being intentional about my time and my own spiritual health. And I’m grateful for those with an eternal kingdom mindset who have paved the way before me, given me courage and loved me well.

Small earthworms in a garden can make a difference. There’s also intentionally planting, taking the time to water seeds and allowing sunshine to come through. Moment by moment. Person by person. Inching through hard dirt, bit by bit, softening and making the soil of each heart pliable, so seeds of love have a healthy place to grow.

But together, with those who have God’s heart, we can affect our world.

A Healthy Dose of Laughter

One of the best health remedies available to human beings is laughter. The thing about taking vitamins or any remedy is that we each need our own; no one else can take them for us. And ultimately, we make the choice of what we put into our body, soul and spirit.

I learned a new game while waiting for the 4th of July parade this year. Stop and Plop, Horse. Well, that’s my name for it.

The gentleman sitting in the grass next to me had explained that ‘these kids are going to draw circles on the street with chalk and when a horse poops in their circle, they win a prize’. Well, let’s just say we were all more anxious for the horses to show up in this parade than usual. Even though the kids became a little desperate towards the end and began shouting at the horses to ‘do your business here’, alas, they all seemed to have done their business before the parade and no one won a prize.

I love being around people who have a merry heart. It’s infectious! I want to be one who lightens the load by lightening the mood!

When you’re in an environment where pain and heartache are prevalent, it’s important to find the ‘vitamins’ that are life-giving. Sometimes a change of focus is needed. Laughter is such great therapy! Proverbs says it’s like medicine. Jesus wanted his followers to believe His yoke was easy and His burden light. The psalmist told us the joy of the Lord is our strength. There’s not much strength in misery.

I love my vitamin sea. The ocean’s mystery and vastness bring me awe and wonder of the Creator and His infinite power. When I recognize Who He is, I need to laugh at the stupidity of my thoughts that would limit Him. If I don’t think my God is big enough for any situation, my fear has become bigger than my faith.

I love hearing the life lessons and insights others have, and like vitamins, the health of my soul and spirit must come from good sources, just like they do for my body. I choose what I put into my mind and what gets to stay or go for my emotional health.

It’s beneficial for me to read other people’s books and stories and hear their testimonies, but it must become personal, out of a relationship with my Creator-God. Directly to me, for me! A healthy mind comes from comprehending we are known by Him and loved beyond measure. And then laughing at the lie that wants us to believe otherwise.

Becoming child-like is powerful!

When traveling for 7 days with my daughter and her family recently, I found myself in the very back of a mini-van with my grand-daughter often in the car seat beside me. These were wonderful times with the energetic and kind-hearted little name-sake of mine. At 5, she has a very engaging personality and the ability to bring some great truths to me when I was paying attention.

I value each of my grands and love spending time with all of them. This was an opportunity with lots of road time together to learn these things from her.

Sing all the time…unless it’s distracting to the driver! Laugh hilariously with others and then ask what was funny. Forgive quickly and easily. Ask good questions because you have curiosity and want to learn. Be in awe of the moments and embrace new things. Have a happy heart because you choose to. Be thankful. Give hugs randomly. Collect rocks everywhere for memories. Care less about dirt and more about others. Hold someone’s hand just because you love being together. Be excited for the day, even when you don’t know where you’re going. Allow others to explain when they had to do something that brought pain to you but was necessary for your good. Worship whenever and wherever.

This is the note she wrote for me as we began the 4 hour journey back to the airport. I had put some crafty things to do in a 3-ring envelope to keep her busy while traveling. Before she began to play with any of the things, she wrote me a thank you. No one prompted her. A thankful heart is powerful because it changes the atmosphere around you and attracts others to you.

One of the things we encountered in the forested landscape was a small and bloodthirsty arachnid known as a tick. They seemed to love her and several had attached unmercifully to her little body. Somehow, I was the one doing the dirty work of removing them. Blessedly, I had brought along a tweezers. Our last night in the boonies, we found 2 on her upper leg in a sensitive area. They were so tiny that I missed on the first try, drawing blood with my tweezers. The sight of red liquid trickling, brought blood-curdling screams which I’m sure awakened everyone in the building. Once I’d plucked them both out and she got her bath and was calmed, we sat down and I answered her questions as best I could about those nasty intruders. I’m thankful she didn’t ask the question of why God would create them because I wonder that myself. She wasn’t upset with me, but needed to know why I had hurt her. Opening yourself up to understanding instead of offense is powerful.

When I couldn’t find my phone and was beyond distraught, she made me laugh just by saying something that was funny from her perspective. She was the first to find me and tell me when it was found and was so excited for me.

I watched and my heart hurt as she learned some hard things. She picked up a luscious looking cup of fruit at the gas station and wouldn’t let anyone help her with it until it dropped and spilled all over the floor. Recognizing we need the help of others is powerful.

One of our first nights was spent in a very old house in the woods. As she ran up the narrow, wooden stairs and found the ‘Mary Poppins’ room and the one with Peter Rabbit wallpaper, she was filled with awe and wonder. The adults not so much. The creaky stairs, lack of air conditioning and only one bathroom on the main floor, filled us with a different kind of awe and wonder!

After a particularly long and tiring day, I could tell her frustration level was as high as mine. We were riding together in that back seat again. I got my music out and we sang some kids’ songs for a while. Then I picked a worship song she knew. My eyes filled with tears as I watched her put both little hands in her lap, palms turned upward in worship. I remembered one of my personal antidotes to life – when you don’t know what to do, worship. Always worship. Jesus is worthy of worship, no matter what. Putting your focus on Him instead of your frustration is powerful.

I recognize that she is shaped a lot by respectful and conscientious parents. I’m truly grateful for their parenting skills. It also reminds me that I have a Father who is wonderful to me and delights when I’m thankful. My trust in Him positions me to take His hand as He reaches out for mine, ask Him questions when I’m hurt, and laugh with great joy whether I fully understand or not. FullSizeRender (1)

I want to live with the awe and wonder of seeing through the eyes of a child and be powerful by living with kindness and a heart of thankfulness for the little things. Thank you, ‘litl’ grand!

Moments to Celebrate

It was a weekend of surprises. I thought I was the surpriser, but I also became the surprisee!

Back on Easter Sunday, I initiated the idea with my Sis and Big Bro. What if we surprised Lil Bro for his 50^th birthday? We could do it to include the graduation of our first great-niece from high school. The four of us siblings had not all been together since our mom’s funeral 4 years ago. I missed them.

Plans were a bit hard to make, since we had to make sure we reached Lil Bro’s wife when he wasn’t around, but I began to get excited. Then my Big Bro sent the let-down, indicating he couldn’t come. I was sorely disappointed, since it just wouldn’t be the same without all of us. I wondered if I should give up on the idea, too. But these were moments to celebrate. Moments we couldn’t recapture later. So, I continued with my plans, even though it was Mother’s Day! (I think my kids have forgiven me.)

I was a jittery mess as I got off the plane in Wichita. We still didn’t have much of a plan. Lil Bro knew my sister was coming for the graduation, but he didn’t know I was coming or that we would celebrate his birthday. We hadn’t figured out the how of our surprise. Ms. Organized had to take deep breaths and trust it would work out. As I came down the escalator in the airport, I saw my Sis at the bottom and hurried over to hug her. As I turned back, I saw him. My Big Bro. My heart did a dance. My legs began jumping up and down. My mouth made it known to all around! “You did come! You did come!” I hugged him tight and wanted to cry. I was ecstatic.

Big Bro gifted this extra surprise out of love for me and Sis. He’d surprised her, too, and took the chance she’d have room in the car for him. My heart was so happy. And it would be such a great gift to our Lil Bro.

Lil Bro reacted the opposite of me. He was stunned to see us all in his living room and his shock silenced him. The pastor without words! What a moment. But that quickly cleared and he, too, was ecstatic.

We celebrat grad for blog ed. We had God-moments no one could have planned. Wonderful gifts, like kisses from our good Father-God. It was better than I could have organized or imagined or thought of.

It reminds me that God is always working on our behalf in ways we cannot always see. We pray and don’t see the answer we want, then suddenly it comes in a totally unexpected way and we are thrilled because we realize He’s been planning this to be even better than we could have expected. I admit, Big Bro doing it this way, was even sweeter.

When everyone had left Monday but me, I took a walk. Alone. Down the road I’d lived on for the first 21 years of my life. The tears flowed. Not tears of sadness but of gratitude. This road held so many memories for me already. This weekend added many more.

My 2 brothers and one sister are 16 years apart in age and I’m right in the middle -8 years from each. We live in 4 different states & 4 different landscapes. Sometimes it feels like we don’t have a lot in common except our parents. We don’t agree on where it’s best to live, (I love the big city, the other 3 are rural dwellers), or what’s best to eat. ‘You haven’t eaten bacon in 30 years?’ ‘Why would anyone use that disgusting cilantro in anything?’ We don’t all agree on faith issues, but without words or really saying so, we’ve agreed to love well.

The road took me past the farmhouse my grandpa built and where I’d lived until I married. I picked up stones along that road where I’d lived the first 21 years of my life. One was broken and reminded me that brokenness is often a part of families, but there’s always healing and forgiveness if we choose it. We’ve had that in our family. I’ve been the broken one and I’ve been the forgiven one. One stone had a golden tint to it. I choose to think we’ve learned to find the gold that has value in each other and brush off the valueless dirt. One stone was simple and plain with a little crack. That fits us too!

We had many moments to savor as we created new memories together. The moments of surprise top the list, and a close second was watching Lil Bro split open his adult piñata with a shotgun (no blindfolds). If you’ve not had an adult pinata, it’s filled with fun goodies for “old” bodies! Not sharing details, but if you need some stinky, menthol chest rub, the grass still smells like it.

Families have seasons. Ours is no different. We blossom, we have storms, we grow in new ways, we grow apart, we give surprises. We make the effort to build new memories. Maybe we cherish them more because they are rare. But always we find ways to create memories and build on the heritage our parents gave us. This Mother’s Day, I think Mom (and Dad) would be honored to know that we chose to continue their legacy of surprises, jokes, playing games, recalling memories, making new ones, sharing hugs and prayers. And taking time to celebrate the moments together.

Which Ladybug is a Boy?

1 of the 1,500 Ladybugs that came by postal carrier for our garden! My 9 year old grandson’s question was, “Which ones are the boys?”

Which ladybug is a boy? Not a question I had thought about, so I didn’t have an answer. Makes sense, though. Like him, most of us identify with others who are ‘more like us’ and we prefer hanging out with those who have commonalities. Whole cultures are built around being with others who are ‘like-minded’. Not necessarily a bad thing. But if we are to be life-givers, we need to move ourselves into a place where there are people who need what we have to give.

For me, getting out of my comfort zone, my mostly introverted character and my non-conflict desiring personality has been quite a journey the past few years. Intentionally doing so, ‘grows’ me in adventures that are awkward and uncomfortable and wonderful all at the same time.

My question would be: Where do we get our real identity? Is it from a career or accomplishment? Am I who I was ‘labeled’ as a child? Do I have value from the family I was born into or married into? These are things that can change. Sometimes quickly. What truly defines me as an individual?

Sometimes it’s letting go of the past first and turning to a new route of freedom. Sometimes it’s seeing by faith what isn’t real yet. The goal of knowing who we are is to live in the destiny God has for us.

Most humans go through tough stuff if they live in the real world, and some are more sensitive in how life affects them. I’m very uncomfortable with going down a path of introspection and trying to figure out why I feel this or that and attributing my actions to a past thing that wasn’t dealt with emotionally. It usually leads me to ‘nowhere good’. When we choose a path that goes towards the God of Light and Truth, we will experience freedom and worth. Our past, good or bad, doesn’t need to define us.

I recently heard a speaker who came out of a life of sex trafficking and has an amazing story of overcoming and moving forward to help others. It was the most raw and ugly story I’ve ever heard, yet her life had become one of incredible redemptive value in less than 5 years. Point is, we’re definitely all different and if help is needed to overcome, get it, then move forward so you can become all that God has destined for you to be.

Letting go of our ‘stuff’ and embracing the identity that is God-given, gets us moving in a forward direction as an overcomer who is then useful for God’s kingdom. Useful to be able to see the needs of others and then open our hearts to be at least part of an answer for them.

For me, it was understanding that I was made ‘new’ in Christ, unique and wonderful (Psalm 139:14) and that in purposefully following Him, I am being transformed to His likeness and image. That’s who I really am. The daughter of an amazing King. A woman who can be courageous because her Abba (Daddy-God) is All-mighty and All-powerful. One who is creative because she has a World Creator-Designer as part of her spiritual DNA. A woman with kingdom authority because her Savior has the keys to the kingdom she is a part of. Whew!

As we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, we recognize that we are powerful and dependent at the same time, because of our God-birthed identity.

When we know Who we are and Whose we are, we can live with intention and purpose to bring transformation to our sphere of influence. We can change our world!

Living with Passion

22 years ago I bega 20160330_125305 n writing a family newsletter for my dad’s side of the family. I have 32 first cousins, 80 second cousins and those 80 have bunches of more little cousins! Lots of family, living lots of places. This hobby of mine has kept us all a little closer as we’ve shared stories, trivia, weddings, babies and lots of travels. I love the trips down memory lane!

Who knew that when I had to find a project for my very first computer class in 1994, that it would have this kind of result?

Small things. Unknown outcome. Not seeing very far ahead. Sometimes just an inkling in our thinking. Being faithful to what you started. Being committed. All are so much easier when it’s something you passionately love doing.

Another passion has begun. Again in a small way. Meeting one on one with women in crisis. Listening to the cry of their hearts and praying for heaven to open up over them. Finding the treasure that’s within them to bring them hope. One this week, addicted to heroin, been through rehab and detox, needing 2 kinds of anxiety meds – this one, had tears rolling down her face as I assured her she was courageous and God saw her kind heart. This one, looking more hopeful after praying for her addiction to be broken by a powerful and amazing God.

Is our world getting worse? ‘Goin’ down the tubes’? I think it depends on where you look and how you see things. We can go back to Biblical times and see horrific lifestyles comparable to now. The depravity of society is always one side of earthly life. Perhaps we just hear more about the yuk, because we have more media. The 6 o’clock news won’t give you the stories of people in my family who foster babies, who start a program for inmates or who care for the elderly with kindness. But these people are making a huge difference and our world is a better place because of those not so small deeds and not so small commitments.

God’s love to us is passionate, sacrificial and life-giving. That Love changes us to be like Him.

Passion sees from the heart of a good, good Father and becomes a conduit of His heart to our world.

What Do You See?

Gary and I took a day trip to Sedona on Friday. If you’re not familiar with Arizona, this is an area with a whole different landscape than the desert city where I live. It’s famous for its amazing scenery. There’s beautiful ponderosa pines, instead of the magnificent saguaro cactus and ginormous red rocks, similar in color variations to the Grand Canyon, but different in that the rock formations go above ground, (way above) instead of underground. We didn’t have a specific plan other than to get out of the big city, relax a bit, breathe some cleaner air and change the view.

As we admired the different buttes and mesas, Gary picked out a ‘squirrel’ looking rock (big squirrel!) …kind of like when you see creatures in cloud scenes. Later, from a different vantage point, this rock no longer looked like a squirrel. Many of these larger rocks have names from their visual perceptions, such as Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock. We liked finding and envisioning with our own creativity.

Perception is an amazing thing. So much of our lives are based on how we see things and since we are individually created, we see from a unique viewpoint. That can be a good thing. What’s been really important at times in my life, is how others see me. I’ve often cared way too much about how others see me and what they think of me.

What’s absolutely changed my life is to recognize how God sees me. Me. Wow. I’ve come to see this as my true identity. He sees me as His Beloved. That is amazing. Sometimes what He sees surprises me. He sees me as a risk-taker. He sees me as one who enjoys beauty and appreciates beautiful things. How do I know? Well, I was gutsy enough to ask. And to expect an answer. Those are some of the things I heard. Recently. No, I’m not nuts to hear from God, I’m listening and open and believe He cares enough about me to reveal His heart to little ole’ me.

Be adventurous and ask Him how He sees you. Since we are created in His image, what He sees will probably be something that looks like He does; character traits of God that He’s designed. Maybe we’re not seeing it in ourselves, but He knows and challenges us to live up to it. We have such value to our Abba (Daddy) God.

As we were having lunch on the patio today, I heard a noise that sounded like it came from our orange tree. Suddenly a man’s head poked over our wall fence. He looked at me about the time I saw him, both of us a bit surprised, then he asked if he could pick some of our oranges. Well, that was kind of random! I assured him he could if he could reach them, (since we’d already picked most of the reachable ones). He thanked me and helped himself.

Sometimes we have only moments to form a perception of others, sometimes we have it nagging at us constantly on the news channel and we still probably don’t know their true identity. God’s view of me doesn’t change with where I am in life or the season I’m in, however, His desire is that I persist in growing in His likeness. Unique, but looking similar in character to my Father.

Miracles at the Nail Salon

I’m a big fan of miracles! It’s my heart-felt belief that God wants to bring what’s in His world, to ours; the supernatural invasion from heaven to earth and that’s always good things. I also am a big fan of hearing miracle stories because they bring me to an awareness of how amazing God is and the courage to pray for more. I’ve had to step out of my comfort zone in praying for others, but it’s certainly worth it.

A pedicure in October was a significant moment for me. That may sound a bit dramatic, but hear me out!

My wonderful daughter-in-law gave it to me as a gift for my birthday and as we sat down in the chairs, Mrs. V came over to greet me very excitedly. Wow, she was in a good mood and so happy to see me! I wondered what was up. She was talking fast and pointing to her arm. Then I remembered.

The previous time I was there was several months before with a friend. Mrs. V’s arm had been in a splint-type brace and I asked her if she was in pain. Although I didn’t understand her English very well, I could tell she was hurting. I asked if I could pray for her. I think that might have caught her off guard! She looked questioningly at her husband who does the manicures. He nodded, so she nodded and I simply put my hand close to her arm and prayed a simple prayer. Then I asked her if she felt anything. Nope, nothing had changed. So we said our good-byes and I never thought of it again. Until this moment several months later.

I asked her to repeat what she’d said when she was pointing to her arm. I noticed she wasn’t wearing the brace. She told me the pain had left after I prayed and had not returned. This is a young woman who makes her living by using her hands and arms all day long doing manicures and pedicures. Being pain-free was a big deal for her.

Well, that was awesome! I was speechless. But she wasn’t! She wanted to know if I would pray for her sister in Vietnam who’d had a stroke and her friend in Tucson who also had arm pain? She wrote their names down for me. Wow!

When God demonstrates His love through miracles and healing, it draws people to want to know Him. But it usually includes our willingness to step out and love them in some way.

I’ve begun to pray more for people in the marketplace and they’re usually grateful and sometimes they feel something and don’t know how to explain it. (I believe it to be God’s presence touching them in a way they can sense.) But I had not seen someone healed as a direct result of my small, seemingly insignificant prayer like this before. That was a big deal for me.

It certainly wasn’t a magic spiritual formula, nor was it my great faith! I’d forgotten about it. Sometimes the miraculous things we encounter make us want to figure God out, so we can do it again. Maybe that messes with your theology, but I’m pretty sure we can’t put God in a box and figure Him out. But the more we get to know Him, the better we understand His heart. And the more we value our relationship with Him, the more He can trust us with answers.

Today I was back for a pedicure. I didn’t really need one, but I just really wanted to know if there were more answers from God. There were! Yes, the friend with arm pain in Tucson no longer had pain and the sister in Vietnam who’d had a stroke was significantly better. And Mrs. V. was still pain free!

I’ve seen 2 more really significant miracles in the past few weeks. There’s nothing more miraculous than a person giving their heart totally back into the charge of the One who created them. It’s incredibly humbling and stirs my passion to know God even more deeply.

Once we begin to experience God’s ‘amazing-ness’, it’s really fun to partner with His reality and bring it to our world. If you have a miracle story to share, I’d love to hear it.

Conquering the ‘machine’

I chose my own Christmas gift this year. One that surprises even me! It started last Christmas. Gary waited until all the rest of the family’s presents were given and then had our son help him bring a huge box in from the garage that was my present. It was a keyboard! Really? Did I want this? O.K., so I mentioned it once and since my husband listens so well, hmmm….Yikes! What in the world was I going to do with it? It had tons of buttons and gadgets along with the keys. To me, it seemed like a machine that would need to be conquered and it overwhelmed me. I like people; I don’t like machines. (Why should I since my husband can fix most any “machine”, is a computer genius and loves all those mechanical things that elude my brain’s ability?) It stayed covered up in our guest bedroom until August.

But I love music and in my younger days I played guitar and even took lessons for an accordion. I had wanted to play piano once upon a time, but that was ages ago. I never learned to read music. Then things began to change for me this year. My job came to a halt in April and I began pursue a different direction. It wasn’t until August that I started piano lessons. Three weeks into it, I began to realize I could do this. I had tears in my eyes as I drove home from lessons that day, confidence beginning to build in my heart that this was something I actually could do. Much of that is attributed to an absolutely amazing teacher who designed a program to teach adults. She had begun to empower me with what was possible with my love for music and the ‘great ear’ I was created with. My perspective and thinking began to change. In 4 months’ time, I can read the melody line and play with both hands in 4 different signature keys and you could possibly sing along……if you sing Amish slow! But hey, slow is good with worship music, right?

Sometimes life brings unexpected challenges or circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us. Our perspective makes all the difference. We always have a choice, even if it’s just in our attitude. I weep for the kids I know who have few choices in their lives because of circumstances beyond their control or their parents’ choices. Even then, they can still choose their heart attitude.

One of my favorite authors, Bill Johnson, puts it this way, “It’s important that we align our heart with who God says we are and not waste time in fear.” My heart wants to see the perspective of heaven and bring that to earth, to my world, in the midst of my own new challenge. This one’s not about machines, and it threatens to shake up my world. When fear of what I might lose begins to torment me, I have to actively choose to turn my heart towards God and focus on Him and His promises, not on the circumstances. Worry and anxiety are enemies of living in the realm of the supernatural that God intended for me. When I actively choose the kind of thinking that anything is possible at any time and I surrender my thought patterns to believe in what my amazing God has spoken, my heart can trust His goodness no matter what I feel.

So back to my choice of gift this year. This one’s not under the tree or hidden in the garage. It’s another semester of piano lessons. Thanks to a hubby who believed in me and knew I could conquer a ‘machine’! What a great gift!

Words to Shop By

This past weekend my daughter and I went shopping – a rare treat for us. She had birthday money to spend and wanted some new clothes since she’s lost weight. Her choice of store was called Last Chance. I’d never been there, but I was up for an adventure!

The parking lot was crowded and she warned me that this was always a busy place. She also warned me that the clientele weren’t usually nice since everyone is bargain-hunting and it’s a ‘grab while you can and before anyone else gets it’ kind of thing! I gulped. Not my kind of place, but I would be a good sport since she wanted to go there.

Yep, it was crowded and full of cranky people and at one point I tried to move out of someone’s way and said I was sorry and excuse me. My daughter leaned over and reminded me that this wasn’t that kind of place – one where you are polite. We laughed, but it was then that I wanted to ‘shift the atmosphere’ and I saw it as a challenge. Why couldn’t we bring a change with kindness and politeness? Why couldn’t we be ‘life-givers’ with our attitudes and words? We didn’t need to become like everyone else just because we were in “that kind of place”.

We as human beings carry an atmosphere with us. Ever have someone walk into a room and you feel something change? Me too. I either want to run to them or away from them.

I’m learning that I get to influence the world around me as a ‘life-giver’ and often a kind word or just being patient can go a long ways. It seems especially tough during this season when we fight crowds everywhere and are trying to be thrifty with both time and money.

Gary and I were in another store recently to pick up something I ordered online. Gary’s not a big fan of shopping, and I’d promised him this would be fast and painless. Note to self – don’t make promises to husband that you have no control over. No one was near the online pickup counter. We looked around and couldn’t even see anyone working close by. We watched for a few minutes for someone to see us waiting and then we got a grouchy clerk. Great. As she left to get our order, we looked at each other and sighed. Then it hit me. Another challenge – let’s see what some kind words would do. Such a small thing really, but it changed everything and we left her in a much better mood than we found her.

I’m certainly not touting my greatness here. I haven’t been very good at this and I know my triggers – one is dealing with medical offices. Pretty sure the change in me is elevated blood pressure! Maybe even that can change. I recently took my friend to the ER for stitches. We’d been to Urgent Care first. After all the stuff she’d been through that day, her comment on the way home was how nice everyone was everywhere she went. My thought was that she had brought the ‘niceness’ with her and changed the atmosphere everywhere she went even though she was in great pain.

If you are a believer in Jesus and His Holy Spirit dwells in you, you are a carrier of His presence. That presence can affect the world around us. Our words and attitudes can influence and bring change. That can be an amazing thing, although it must be genuine. In the Bible, Proverbs reminds us that “life and death are in the power of the tongue”.

Who and what you spend time with affects who and what you become. If change isn’t wanted and you have the option not to hang out in that place that’s negative, why would you?

Last Chance wasn’t a good place for me to hang out and I’m pretty sure it was my first and last time there! The ‘bargains’ weren’t worth the atmosphere to me. When my daughter volunteered that she thought we should go elsewhere, I couldn’t help myself, it just popped out, “Yep, I’m ready!”

Never underestimate how powerful you are. We don’t always have a choice of where we go, but we always have a choice of who we are in that place.

HeartEyes

seeing with the eyes of my heart