A HEART INSPIRED

I have indeed, fallen in love...with a word.A glorious word. PROVIDENCE .                  Yes, I know, I know. The title. Its catchy. Its misleading. You all thought there was going to be some juicy reveal. And there is. Its just a little different that a trashy summer novel, where I fall for the wrong guy and get my heart broken, just to find out that my quiet, shy, neighborhood butcher is the most amazing guy, and to  top it all, he's been in love with me the whole time. It would be nice, but there is something much better that I am leading up to. ...I have fallen in love with a word, people! PROVIDENCE. Say it with me. Say it out loud. Providence. I love how it sounds; Majestic and Regal. Strong and Heroic. Sure and Definite. It embraces me, consoles me, makes me feel loved. I can't help but love it back. To me it sounds like the sweet destination, after a long, long journey. I haven't...

~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come The kids and I are getting Baptized on Sunday. Our spiritual date of birth will be September 25, 2011. I love that we all get to do this together.The kids are so excited. Opportunities to do so have come and gone and yet, here we are in Florida, away from family and friends, making this very public declaration with our new church family. The Baptism will  be held on what our church calls "The Land". A beautiful grapefruit orchard, with a "Florida Lake" which is the future home of an expanded building for The Crossing Church and will be preformed by our Pastor, Kendal Anderson. The lake may or may not be available, however if it is, I'm in. Now, bear in mind we are talking fish, turtles, alligators and snakes.There will also be a kiddie pool, as a viable option.  We have travelled so far, almost 1200 miles...

                                                                        I never get around to eating breakfast; Too busy, not hungry, can't decide, always on the go. But, on this dark stormy morning, with the chores finished, the kids off to school, the resumes sent out and a movie I just had to watch one more time...I cooked me up some eggs. So, there I was.., a cozy candle to warm up the darkness that had settled in my living room, the dishwasher running, the dryer humming, the rain pounding, a cup of tea and my omelette. I slipped the DVD in. Bridget Jones's Diary. I've seen it few times. I always get such...

Imagine if you will, a world in which every thought were audible. A world where not one single thought went unheard. Would you choose your hearts expressions more carefully, would you spew the ugly truth, share the horrid lies? I ask this because there have been so many moments when I have had words; beautiful, gentle, loving words. Words that would lift up, bless and encourage one. Yet, I kept them. For what reason I wonder? For fear that they would be dismissed, difficult to accept? I ask this because there have been so many moments when I have had words; ugly, harsh, unkind words. Words that would tear down, curse and discourage one. Yet, I let them escape. For what reason I wonder? For fear that they would swallow me up, had I kept them? In my life I have lost friendships with my words. The ones spoken and the ones not. In my life I have birthed friendships with my words.The ones spoken and the ones not. Imagine if you will, a world in whic...

The other night I watched  Rob Reiner's Film, The Bucket List , starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Two older, ill, very different from one another,  gentlemen facing the end of their existance, form a friendship and they head off to fulfill some heartfelt adventures. Of course this got me thinking...We all do it. Dream . I dream with my mom, my girlfriends, my kids. It creates euphoria, which, for me lasts and lasts . My family...we dream on our car rides, at the dinner table, on the sofa. We're always making plans. Sighing deeply , breathing out slowly...ahhh, someday. So, what are these things that I want, need, dream of accomplishing before my demise? It is a grim thought, I know and I'm not in a hurry to go, but in a perfect world, if given the opportunity to get it all in before the curtain draws its final wisps.., what does my spirit long to achieve? Well, certainly the basic good-will deeds apply, like feeding the hungry, cr...

~ Isaiah 43:1~  {NIV}" Fear not," says the Lord..."for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name and you are mine." Perspective. It changes constantly. Remember when you were a teenager? If you were anything like me, you were so sure you knew everything you would ever need to know about yourself, about life, about everything and everyone else. The choices, the regrets. The judgments, the mistakes. The achievements, the failures. They are what shapes us. If given the opportunity, most of us would choose to have done at least some things, a little differently. We've all heard of that really fun idea where we sit and write THE letter to our younger selves. That 'Oh so very important letter'. I have found myself wanting to do that, often. I'm thinking it's that whole 'getting older' thing. And the whole, 'raising teenagers' thing. And the whole, 'man, if I only knew' thing. I find myself contemplati...

I find myself comforting others about my life  a-lot , as of late. In sharing some of the everyday difficulties of single parenthood, I am privy to the anguish and hurt, which these confidants are experiencing on my behalf. Sighs are breathed, fists are pounded, teeth are gritted, in sheer exasperation. It brings me to tears just thinking of it. So much more than an actual remedy, these shared expressions of concern are truly, very comforting...at the same time I find it incredibly necessary to extend comfort in return. "We'll be fine, everything will be okay, God is good." My repeated mantra goes. And I believe every word. We WILL be fine, everything WILL be okay. GOD IS SO GOOD. This brings me to the place of recognizing that every circumstance does not necessarily require a solution. The human, God given , display of empathy, in itself provides ample sustenance. We all feel and wish that we could fix all of our loved ones angst's and fears. We ...

...the human race is complex and capable of a vast variety of emotions, expressions and conditions... ~ Galations 5:17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  A rrogance... looks ugly B igotry... leaves a sting C onceit... smells stale D isgust... tastes bitter E go... bites back F ury... beats down G rudge... devours a soul H ate... pushes to the death I gnorance... blatantly stifles J udgment... belittles K arma... is hell-bent L ust... seeks to destroy M anipulation... steals like a thief N egativity... is a life sucker O ppression... holds you back P ride... is a whore Q uarrelsome... born of self pitty R egret... looks tired and worn S elfishness... feels small and empty T urbulent... a ground shaker U nbending... rigid and cold V iolent... blindingly murderous W retched... in-stiller of fear X enophobia... pathetically small minded...

Well, here I sit in disbelief, in a little bit of denial and quite frankly... in shock. Look at me, expanding my horizons; widening my circle, leaping out of my little fish bowl...gazing way out yonder, exceedingly beyond my little prairie! Putting myself out there; exposing personal hopes and dreams, choices and mishaps, family matters and longings. If only one year ago, you had asked me...could it even be remotely possible, that shy, quiet, private me...would be Blogging, FaceBooking, Tweeting , Job Hunting ...on the Internet? I would have said... Never. No way. Whatever for? Not interested. Nope. Not a chance. No. Uh-uh. No-way No-how. No Sirree Bob. NOT ME! Social Networking is not for me. It doesn't suit me. It won't benefit me. It couldn't help me. It might possibly harm me. Whatever for? Yet, here I sit. Loving every moment of it! I feel free. I feel exhilarated. What have I got to hide? This is ...

As far back as I can remember, being a mom was the very desire of my heart. As a little girl, I mothered my dolls as if they were my very own living, breathing babies. Friends and family always knew I would have a bunch someday. When my husband proposed at the age of nineteen, I told him that I would need to be a stay at home mom for our children. He whole heartedly agreed, and I said yes to the proposal! Well, as it turns out I have been blessed beyond measure. My cup, surely it runneth over!                                       I was twenty four years old when our first was born and and thirty one when our fourth arrived. Life was incredibly fun and tremendously exciting. Super busy and exceedingly joyful. Never had I imagined all of the living and loving we would do. I doted on t...

T his title comes to you, courtesy of my mother. We were discussing the blog and the things that I have written about. I shared with her that I have no idea what I'm going to express until my fingers hit the key board. Literally, word after word, I do not know what it is that will end up on the screen until I press 'publish'. We tossed around the idea of how it would be fun if topics were brought to my attention and requests were made for me to broach ideas of interest to my readers. Well, she blurts out to me "The bells are ringing!" I said, "Huh?" and there you have it. That is the topic that she threw into my lap and onto your screen!         ~ Surely, it would have been easy enough to write about, just Google some facts about bells and steeples, mention some historical insights, a few quaint photos and there you have it. A blog about ringing bells.        ~ I actually tossed around the...

Nitty~Gritty; (n) The specific or practical details; the heart of the matter.                                                                          Such a peculiar choice of words to express such a serious sentiment. The heart of the matter. Why is it that the details of ones life are so easily filtered and siphoned into the mere celebration of resolving the blunders as quickly as possible? Overlooking details at great lengths, for the sake of moving on. Whatever happened to getting down to the nitty~gritty, really sinking your teeth into every morsel and coming out the victor, with the end result being clear and audible...

Cry me a river, so deep and so wild. Thought I would have drowned in these tears of a child. Found myself in a big strong boat. Searched a little deeper, it was built from hope. The oars, so strong, resilient with might. They were my compass...I held on tight.                                                                Cry me a river, so deep and so wild.                                              The journey was hard, exhaust...

Girls...remember when I said I was going to revisit some places....well, this is where it probably gets pretty real. I was all prepared to write about my sweet, dear, Buddy Bear. However ... As I was collecting my thoughts and thinking about how I wanted to express the amazing love that occurs between a dog and his family, I embarked on a trip through recollection valley. I came across some redemptive pit stops, more than one regretful u-turn, quite a few shameful dead-ends and a whole bunch of water under the bridge exits. It is by the Grace of God that this road trip ended on a blazingly sunny pasture with a flowing brook and meandering paths, overgrown with daisies and lilies of the valley, weeping willows, glorious oaks and every shade of lavender. I found myself in the land of Goshen. It turns out that you do have to struggle through some undesirable travels in order to recognize the destination when you finally get there.         ...