Happy New Year

I am attempting to start a new habit this year. I am committing to walk at least 3 days a week at lunchtime. So, on Monday, I began walking this loop in our building and about 10 minutes in – I was bored and wanted to stop. I was not worn out or tired from walking … I was just bored.

Determined to not give up on the very first day - I began thinking about things. Grocery lists, to do lists and all the other things I needed to do started filling my head. So, now I’m bored and overwhelmed! This isn’t starting out well!

Then I thought … ooohh… Morgan got an Ipod for Christmas! I can tell her she can’t take it to school and then I can use it for my walks at lunch!! Then it occurred to me … why is it that we require constant stimulation? Why can’t we just clear our heads and be quiet. Even during my ‘quiet time’ in the morning – I’m reading, writing and praying.

There isn’t a minute during the day … or night … when I am truly still. The Bible says ‘be still and know that I am God’ yet, we’re constantly on the go. Maybe that’s why we don’t hear God as often as we should. Maybe that’s why I keep praying – but nothing seems to happen. Perhaps if I stopped and listened, I’d hear what God has to say.

I amended my commitment and invited God to join me on my lunchtime walks. Although my feet aren’t still, I try very hard to make sure that my mind and heart are. It’s hard! My mind wanders, people distract me, I keep checking the time … it’s definitely a work in progress. Perhaps by the end of the year, my lunchtime walks will improve much more than just my heart rate.

My 4 year old Christmas

It was quite a few years ago, on a very cold Christmas Eve night. I was four years old, at best. As I walked into the sanctuary of our small-town church, trying to keep my wings on straight, I saw a scene that I had heard about in the weeks prior. There was a bright star hanging on the curtain - sheep and cattle placed around a tiny manger where a baby would soon lay. I remember being cold, and excited, and afraid. Perhaps that was how the Shepherds felt when they saw an angel appear before them.

I'm sure that my parents told me not to be afraid ... that I would do just fine in the Christmas pagent. I'm sure they hugged me, comforted me and wrapped me warmly on that cold night. I know they did - not because I remember - but because that is the very same thing I did for my daughter. And it is the very same thing that God did when his Son was born. He sent comfort and warmth and love. He sent a bright and shining star to interrupt the cold darkness. He sent angels to calm the fears and to praise the birth of His son.

Isn't it comforting to know that God never changes? He still hears our praises, calms our fears and provides the light in the midst of the darkness we encounter. It may not be in the form of angels from Heaven - it may be a hug from a mother; a kind word from a friend; or a smile from a stranger on the street ... but God's love for us is always present. When our hearts are turned towards God, He will always calm our fears.

Gracious Father, help us to remember the birth of your Son ... a light in the darkness to guide us to you. Hear our praises, oh Lord, as we rejoice in knowing that you hear us as clearly as the Shepherds who praised you so long ago. Guide us, Lord, through this Christmas season. Help us to slow down and remember that You have already given the greatest gift. No gift we purchase, no dinner we cook, no card we write can compare to the gift of Eternal Life that you have given us through your son, Jesus Christ. May each gift we give, each meal we serve and each card we send allow us to reflect your light into the hearts of those we meet. -Amen

One More Day

I wrote this two days ago ... the day before Morgan's birthday...

Morgan was so excited this morning … she came running down the stairs ‘tomorrow is my birthday!’ “I know”, I told her.

And then I thought … thirteen years ago at that moment, I didn’t know. I’d been in the hospital for almost a week waiting. One more day. One more day. One more day. The goal was to find that moment where keeping my blood pressure down and giving Morgan more time for her lungs to develop collided. That moment would come the next evening.

This year, I made that comment as well – but for a very different reason. This year, mom is very sick, her emphazema is worse, and although I don’t have the rule book, we keep looking for ‘one more day’.

What a difference one more day can make. Thirteen years ago, ‘one more day’ put the most wonderful gift God could give in my arms. One more day brought the welcome sound of screaming lungs from a tiny little baby … a baby we weren’t sure had lungs strong enough to survive. How ironic that today we wait one more day hoping that a very different set of lungs is strong enough to survive one more day.

We all assume that we have one more day. One day we’ll be wrong. Quite often we say ‘I’ll do it tomorrow, or I’ll tell them tomorrow.’ Make sure … especially through this Christmas season … that you say what you need to - and do what you need to … today. As you go about the Christmas season, make sure that you are living your life in such a way that when there isn’t ‘one more day’, there will be no regrets.

We know that Jesus is coming back ‘one day’. We assume that it isn’t today. One day, we’ll be wrong about that, too!

Countdown to Christmas

Well, here we are – December is here – and you know what that means?!!? The countdown to Christmas begins!

I wonder what Mary was thinking on this day, two thousand years ago. There was no ‘countdown’ yet. I wonder if she sat with her hand on her belly thinking ‘just one more month.’ I wonder if she realized just how special this baby would be.

There was a quote in the movie The Nativity Story – Mary said “I wonder when it will happen, I wonder when he will be more than just a child”. I know that before Morgan was born, I dreamed of what she would be like – what color her hair would be, would she be tall, what her passions would be, what would she want to do with her life – her dreams and her thoughts; and what kind of impact she will have on the world. I would talk to her and tell her how much I loved her – even before I laid my eyes on her.

I wonder what Mary whispered to her baby; what she dreamed about for him. I wonder what kind of impact she thought he would have on this world!

As you rush through the malls, the grocery store, e-bay and prepare for Christmas this year, stop and think about what Mary was doing to prepare for this day. I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t thawing a turkey and fighting the crowds at Toys-R-Us!

Take time to think about that last month before your child was born. Think about what you and your family were like – what you did and thought, what you dreamed about and prayed about as you counted down those last days before your child entered the world. Remember what those whispers were, what those prayers were; that feeling of hope that your baby would bring into your lives. Remember the anticipation, the excitement and the fear as you counted down the days before you would hold your baby in your arms. Relive those memories – and share that with your child.

God gave us three things – faith, hope and love. I don’t think I ever felt that so strongly as the day my daughter was born. I remember looking at her for the first time – so tiny; so perfect; so innocent – it took my breath away. If I was so overwhelmed by the hope and love that my baby brought into my life – I can only imagine what Mary felt like when she first saw her baby!

One Day at a time means Thanksgiving comes before Christmas!!

Have you gone absolutely crazy yet?!?! I think I have!

Scripture says to worry not about tomorrow, for it will have worries of its own. We should take each day as it comes and enjoy what that day has to offer. So, why is it that Christmas is everywhere and we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving?!?! If we are to take one day at a time … shouldn’t we celebrate one holiday at a time!

Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks … of reflecting on what we have, where we are and those that are important in our lives. I believe it deserves our attention before we begin the mad rush to Christmas … which is a topic of another discussion in itself!

We have so much to be thankful for. But … you say, ‘Michele, you don’t know what I have on my plate.’ You are correct … I don’t know. But I do know that you have plenty to be thankful for. You have a Lord and Savior that loves you. He loves you so much that he suffered a painful death on the cross because He loves you and wanted to be sure that you have a home in Heaven.

I know families that have lost loved ones this year … have lost jobs … have lost their homes. My prayers go out to you every day. On this day … this Thanksgiving week … take a moment to think about those things that keep you going … those people in your life that make you smile. Even though there are a ton of things to do and a million things on your mind - s l o w d o w n !! Enjoy this time - enjoy this day – enjoy the folks in your life. Enjoy some turkey and a nap. Enjoy the game. But most importantly, enjoy time thanking God for all of the people, things and memories that you have to be thankful for!

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!

Are you doing what God created you to do?

My dad always told me that I could be anything I wanted to be … do anything that I set my mind to. I tell Morgan the same thing. Recently I read something that made me rethink that. It suggested that it isn’t my mind that I need to set straight.

In school, I studied English. I took classes in journalism, communications and public speaking. I was thinking management … public speaking … leadership … money. Those of you that know me know – that’s not me. A five minute ‘speech’ in front of my friends at church … about something I am already passionate about … sends me into a panic for days! Can I do it? Yes. Can I do it fairly well? Yes … but is that what I’m made to do? I don’t think so!

Many of us are in roles – in our job, relationships, church, majors in college – because that’s where we ‘should’ be. That’s where the security or money is. Some join the military because the past three generations had. Some go into the ‘family business’ or become a doctor because they are expected to follow in their dad’s footsteps. Some of these folks are great at what they do – and some are very successful … but are they doing what they are made to do. Is this the plan that God has for them? Maybe … but maybe not.

So, what am I supposed to be doing? I haven’t the first clue!! I’ve realized that I’m more comfortable with a pen (or keyboard) than a microphone. I know that I’m more comfortable leading children than grown-ups. I also learned that as much as I want to be extroverted and outgoing … I’m really not. I would just love to be one of those motivational speakers that talk to everyone and make everything make sense. I’d love to be a Max Lucado and write lots of books and speak all over the country. (It was his book ‘Cure for the Common Life’ that put me on this thought). But I know me … and although it took me a long time to figure it out … and even longer to accept it – that’s not where I’m supposed to be. That isn’t the gift that God has given me.

Keep in mind that God has a plan for us. He knows where we are supposed to be. The longer we try to impose our own ideas on his plan – the more miserable we’ll be! Ask God where you’re supposed to be. Ask Him where you should be in your career … pastimes … activities … relationships. (He hasn’t answered me yet on that last one yet!) Ask God … don’t assume that you know what is best for you!

Ask yourself … Are you doing what God created you to do?

The Extra Hour

Don’t forget to set your clocks back Saturday night!

The long-awaited extra hour that we always dream of is here!! What are you going to do with it?? The first thing that comes to my mind is sleep!! But, what are all of those things that we talk about doing if we had an extra hour… if I had an hour, I’d get the laundry finished … or clean out the closet … or …

A few years ago, I forgot to set my clock back. This was before the Edge … so maybe it was quite a few years ago. Where I normally arrived at 9:30 for Sunday School – I was there at 8:30!! As I walked into the empty church, I realized what I had done and wondered what I should do. I could go get breakfast, or go home and do something … but I decided that since I was already at church, I’d spend a little time with God.

I found a seat in the sanctuary near the front and just started talking… “Hi, God, here I am … what can we talk about?” As we chatted about how silly I was to forget to set my clock back – and wondering if that was intentional on God’s part … I began to ramble about things that had been on my mind. Now, I couldn’t tell you now what was on my mind – but I remember feeling a sense of peace as I sat there. Things seemed a little clearer, and as that hour came to a close I remember feeling almost disappointed that the time was over. I wanted to hang on to that feeling, but as the church filled with my fellow worshipers, my quiet moments were gone. But the peace that I found remained. I was amazed at how the overwhelming stress and situations that had been with me as I walked in – seemed well under control and no longer a problem.

I’ve spent some alone-time with God in the Sanctuary with God since then – and it’s been very good for me. But it’s never been the same as it was that day. That unmistakable sense of peace that only comes from God himself. When I walked into church that morning, I was scolding myself for forgetting to set the clock back. At the end of the hour, I was quite certain that whether I set it back or not … God wasn’t going to let me miss our talk!

So, on second thought … forget that reminder to set your clocks back!!