Tag: books

  • Limited Visibility

    Moments in time.

    One BIG learning I have had in my life is to be intentional in savoring the little every day moments. There are moments that may not seem a big deal at the time. But, they become a big deal when they are gone.

    I learned this very quickly after losing my dad and sister. I realized that the things I missed the most were the things that I deemed little. They were even irritating at times.

    An example for me were the “dad joke’s” we’ve all experienced. Those jokes that we roll our eyes at and laugh a bit out of respect. Well, I would give anything to hear one of dad’s jokes again!

    I had the joy of spending this past week with my 1 and 3 year old grandchildren. I quickly realized that I had forgotten what it was like to get very little sleep! I also forgot that any plans I make might as well be dismissed. The kids’ plans take precedence.

    I don’t know about you, but I catch myself when I am in one moment, wishing for another. Instead of savoring the moments I am blessed with, I waste them wanting something different. When I do that, I am not appreciating the blessings God is giving to me.

    Moments are just that. Moments. Once they happen, they are gone. The moment is gone, but the memory of that moment lasts a life time. I want to be intentional in savoring every moment I have with those I love. I want to make special and joy filled memories for those I love to treasure for a lifetime.

    My eyes, no matter how clear and focused on Christ, are cloudy compared to His.

    I can’t see the beauty God is creating beyond what is right in front of me. I can’t see how He takes something that seems fearful, sad, or unjust, and shines His light in and through to redeem it into beauty.

    I can’t see ahead into the unknown and I have to remember that none of it is unknown to Him. 

    My job is to savor my moments.

    In my limited vision, at the age of 66, dad was taken away too soon. I trust that God has the vision to see where true beauty lies. I have faith and hope that He takes those times of hurt and sadness and shines His light in and through them to redeem their beauty. I choose to look for the beauty.

    He has the perspective. We have the life we are given by our circumstances. And if we trust Him, really trust Him, I believe He will always make sure there is beauty beyond our limited vision.

    And I will always praise Him for that.

    I am grateful for savoring many of the moments I had with my dad. The trips with him in the semi. The rides on the tractor when he was in the field. The days I was able to follow him around the farm and learn many life lessons. The calls I would receive from him when he was in the field. There are so many memories I savor.

    I want to create those same treasured moments for my children and grandchildren. I want to continue to create those treasured moments for me.

    I savor those moments and realize now more than ever the importance of those moments in my life. It’s those moments that I can turn to and fill my heart with joy.

    Be intentional in savoring the little everyday moments!

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • Responsible To Each Other

    With Valentine’s day last week, there was a lot of focus on LOVE. Our focus on this day of love is typically on those we are close to. Those we love because of the relationship we have with them.

    But, God asks us to go even deeper. God tells us the greatest commandment is to Love.

    A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. [John 13:34-35]

    He is not asking us to only love those who we consider easy to love. He is asking us to love all His children. Humph! That is a big ask.

    If you are a fan of peanuts, this quote features Linus telling Lucy about his aspirations to be a doctor. Of course, as only Lucy can do, she undercuts his aspiration. But, this time Linus gets the last word in. Linus loves humans as a race, but he detests certain individuals.

    I do believe we all come to this earth being good at heart. We are made in the image and likeness of God.

    I also believe that life happens and circumstances can change us. We also have teachers along the way. Teachers who take us aside and show us compassion when we mess up. They help direct us on better paths.

    I began wondering about the number of people I’ve had contact with in my life. People who were looking to me to teach them. In my own business or selfishness, I didn’t take the opportunity to help guide them.

    I have had times when I have reached out and tried to minister to others. It can feel defeating when they make a choice to not seek God. When I feel like I am not making a difference, I doubt myself and want to give up.

    What God reminded me, is that:

    “We are not responsible for each other, but we are responsible to each other.”

    I am not responsible for the choices others make. I am responsible to love them enough to disciple to them. Once I I do my job, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to work in them.

    I need to be intentional about being present in the moment. This way, I don’t miss the opportunities God puts in front of me.

    “Even though we think of our goals as some future state to achieve, the real goal is always the life in this moment, this moment, this moment. ~Charlotte Beck

    I don’t want to miss an opportunity of fulfilling a purpose God has for me in my life. An opportunity to love others as He loves me. I may miss that opportunity if I am not fully present in the moment with others.

    How many of you have said … oh, I’ll wait and call them tomorrow. Maybe next month we can go see them.

    Whatever it is, when our focus is living until (fill in the blank), we aren’t really living. The until may never come and then we stop living all together. We have missed the opportunity God has called us to.

    So, seize the moment you are in. You are in that moment for a purpose. A purpose God has called you to.

    I know I don’t want anyone to pass through my life. I don’t want someone to later ask, “Who forgot to teach them?”

    I challenge you to do the same.

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • Reckless Faith

    “I love the recklessness of Faith. First you leap and then you grow wings.”


    The above canvas was made by my sister, Sara. I was reflecting on this Sloane Coffin’s quote and the word recklessness stood out to me.

    Webster defines recklessness as being “utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless.”

    Loving recklessness or unconcern for consequences is probably not the first thing I would jump up and say…yep that’s me!

    I tend to be someone who likes to make sure I am following the rules. I typically have things planned out. My mind is always analyzing the consequences of decisions that I have in front of me. I want to make sure I am doing the right thing for the right reason. Thinking about who may be affected and how.

    In my leadership training and development role, I trained leaders using several books. One of these was “First Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham. It became one of my favorite leadership teachings.

    The rule follower’s favorite book, First Break all the Rules. Yep, that makes a lot of sense. NOT!

    Initially that is a fair assumption, but let me give you my reasons.

    Traditional management is a hierarchical style of management that emphasizes efficiency and control. It’s characterized by a clear chain of command, well-defined roles, and a focus on following rules and procedures. This book encourages leaders to break the rules on traditional management.

    It encourages us to change our old thinking to a new way. This new way encourages leaders to focus on individual talents and strengths. God has provided us with unique talents. Instead of trying to put in what God left out, try drawing out what God left in!

    There are several other great tips in the book, but I’ll leave that for your reading. :) I want to try and encourage a new way of thinking about faith.

    When I think about recklessness in terms of faith, it makes sense to me. There were numerous times in the bible that Jesus asked others to leave everything behind and follow Him. Think about that…how many of us, not knowing much about someone, would take that kind of leap of faith?

    “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” ~Mark 1:16-20 (NIV)

    The disciples didn’t plan out what following Jesus would look like for them. They didn’t tell Him…wait…let me think this through! They took a leap of faith, trusted Him and grew wings along the journey.

    It requires us to trust in His upside down thinking. Not worldly thinking, but Jesus thinking.

    Jesus’ upside-down thinking involves identifying with the poor and oppressed. It also values those who are looked down upon in the world. God’s kingdom is different from the world’s kingdom. Those who are valued by God are not necessarily those who are valued by the world. 

    Taking a leap of faith requires us to be brave, to trust with all of our hearts. He calls to surrender our lives to Him, trusting He will help us grow and flourish as His faithful servants.

    At once they left…Without delay…they followed Him.

    I pray that I can live a reckless kind of faith. One that I will surrender all of my life to Him. I will take the leap He is asking me to take. I trust that He will provide me the wings I need to fly. I will soar in this life for Him.

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • A Long Way From Your Heart

    It is January and the temperature this week has been in the upper fifties! When that happens in Iowa, you must take advantage of it. So, I went on a walk and was praising God.

    For some reason, I started thinking about something my dad use to say. Whenever we would get hurt, he would try to make us feel better by looking at our hurt and saying:

    “You know what the good thing about this is, don’t you? It’s a long way from your heart.”

    Then he’d laugh while trying to get me to laugh and think about anything else but my hurt. As I’m sure many of you can relate, those dad sayings were frustrating at the time.

    Eventually, I understood his lesson behind the distraction. That no physical ailment could change my heart. That every hurt would pass and I would still be the same on the inside regardless of the outside.

    I’ve had opportunity to put that saying to the test in my adult life, and I’ve realized something about Dad’s theory…

    I realize that some hurts aren’t a long way from my heart. Some hurts reside there. But, they don’t have to change who I am inside.

    They don’t have to change my faith.

    Every lesson I learned before the hurt remains the same after.

    Nothing is different. God is the same. Love is the same.

    No matter how much my heart hurts.

    I get to choose my perspective. I get to choose between faith or fear; victory or victim; joy or despair; bitterness or hope. It is my choice and what I choose will decide the healing of my heart.

    Through the many hurts I have experienced, I have chosen to trust in Him. Trusting in Him, is an all or nothing decision. If I choose to trust Him, I can’t choose fear or bitterness. I can’t choose to be a victim or filled with despair.

    It’s an all or nothing decision.

    Going through divorce, cancer, and loss, didn’t change my choice to trust in Him. I know better, so I can’t pretend to be ignorant simply because my life was suddenly altered.

    Even in the hardest times, I trust that God has never changed. His grace surrounds me every moment of every day. He knows all, sees all, and understands all. I trust Him with everything. I can walk through this life aiming to fulfill what I realize I may never understand.

    This life may seem random to me, but it is not random to Him. And that is enough for me.

    It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. ~Ephesians 1:11 MSG

    I pray you know that you can make the choice for it to be enough for you too.

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • Hiding Sonshine

    My my son Thomas, now 31, was maybe seven at the time. His partner-in-crime and cousin, Alex, was about eight. And the third amigo? He was in his 50’s. And their grandpa.

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    Dad, Thomas and Alex

    It was Memorial Day weekend. We were all at a cemetery next to the small country church my mom attended as a child. We were placing flowers next to the headstones of loved ones who had gone to heaven before us. As with every year, we walked around the cemetery. We tried to remember who was related to whom. We also tried to recall how they were related to us.

    And off in the back corner huddled Dad with his two oldest grandsons. We could tell by the way Dad was standing. His hand gestures showed he was telling a big story. Believe me, those boys were paying close attention.

    Before too long, Thomas came running over to me, declaring, “Mom! You aren’t going to believe it! Grandpa used to hide sunshine in these stones!”

    We’d all heard the stories before. It didn’t take long to realize Grandpa had been telling inappropriate stories of his own youth. Stories to the youth whose ears were too young to be listening (according to me anyway).

    The intricate tale Dad wove was of long ago. It was a time when alcohol was outlawed. People made their own brews in bathtubs and bottled up liquor on the sly. He spoke of secret stashes and horse riding. He included anything else he could to make his true story a little more lively.

    Dad explained to these impressionable little lads that some of the headstones were hollow inside. He showed them the panels on the sides. These panels could be unscrewed. He told them about the times they would sneak into the graveyards. They hid their stashes of tub-brewed liquor inside the headstones of people who had long since left the earth.

    He told them of moonshine.

    Thomas told us of sunshine.

    And none of us corrected him as we all scolded Dad and knew it would do no good.

    My thoughts today are not of hiding the moonshine, but of hiding the “Sonshine.”

    In January of 2017, my journey with breast cancer began. I don’t talk about the journey much, and I’m not sure why. I’m not good sharing about me as I really don’t like attention. The memories are definitely hard, but by not sharing, I am hiding the “Sonshine.”

    By not sharing, I am hiding the opportunity to show you joy. The blessings that also comes from the difficulty. I am hiding the opportunity to disciple and share God’s goodness. Even in the most difficult times, He is good, all the time! He is the “Sonshine.”

    By not sharing, I am not providing the opportunity to let you know that I am here to listen. I can pray, comfort, or be whoever you need, for whatever you may be going through. Mine happened to be cancer. Whatever yours is, I would like to share the hope and joy that is still possible, even when life hurts.

    During the most difficult times in life, we may not always recognize the blessings. Burdens can make these blessings hard to see. It reminds me of the poem footprints.

    FOOTPRINTS

    One night I dreamed a dream.
    As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
    Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
    For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
    One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

    After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
    I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
    I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
    especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
    there was only one set of footprints.

    This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
    “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
    You’d walk with me all the way.
    But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints.
    I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

    He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
    When you saw only one set of footprints,
    It was then that I carried you.”

    During the hardest times in life, we must be intentional. Intentional in focusing on our blessings in the midst of the burden. We must be intentional because the blessings are often overshadowed by the burden.

    In 2017 it would’ve been easy to let the world pass me by. I thought that if everything was going to be taken from me, I might as well act like it.

    But my true intention in life is to be open to whatever God has in store for me. My biggest fear is that He has a purpose for me and if I’m not paying attention, I’ll miss it.

    So I pray for guidance and pray that I can be intentional in all things. Through my breast cancer journey, God has showed me an important role. I can fulfill the role of an encourager. I believe in people when they don’t believe in themselves. I believe in God’s plan when others lose their faith. I encourage and, hopefully, leave someone feeling better than when I found them.

    So, I pray that as you join me on this Choose Joy Adventure, you will be encouraged. Encouraged to seek out God in the blessings and the burdens. Trust Him even when He feels far away. Believe that He is not far away, but carrying you through it.

    The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. ~Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

    I pray the tales that we hushed dad from telling back then get told years down the road. That they will tell their own grandkids about their Grandpa Mike. How he weaved them stories of moonshine and filled their spirits with “Sonshine.”

    I’ll spread “Sonshine” to each of you. I will do this through stories of what I have gone through. These stories show how my relationship with God has deepened. This deepening happens when we choose to open ourselves up to Him and each other.

    With love and joy,

    Laura