Live Like Its Real

Join women from all over the Bay Area for a women’s spiritual growth conference.

Women have real needs. We live in the real-world where life is often not the fairy-tale existence that we wished it would have been. But, we have a real God, who offers healing, hope and help for real women, in the real world. As we depend on Him, we can learn to live well in the real-world where life happens. But, living well requires faith to be necessity not a luxury for some spiritual few. God offers the same gift to each and every one of us—life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Come spend a weekend moving a step closer to the God who loves you most, and learning to live with Biblical Truth as your firm foundation.

This conference has a power-packed main sessions, that include energizing worship and national speakers who address women all over the country and are gifted at bringing Biblical Truth into applicable focus for Real-Life.

This year the break out sessions are not only relevant, but are presented by women who are passionate about what they are presenting. Each break out session has been selected with you in mind, and prayerfully considered for your growth as Today’s Woman. Whether you are old or young, married or single, with children or without—there is something for you at Design4Living.

http://www.cornerstoneweb.org/design4living

Wild Bird Nest Contest

Yikes, my local newspaper is hosting its 4th annual wild bird nest contest. Where have I been for the other three? Now this is a contest I can get behind. Nest categories include most unusual building material, flimsiest nest, weirdest nest location, most unique bird, most artistic nest and most wonderful nest of all. Unfortunately, none of the nests in my yard qualify but they are still all winners as far as I'm concerned!

If anyone out there is even reading this blog, and gets as big a kick out of bird nests as I do, send me a photo of your favorite. I can guarantee that it will win first prize in my own personal bird nest contest.

Sing On

I know, I know, there are at least a zillion blogs on American Idol. But we Groovy Tuesday gals love our show. We watched tonight along with millions of other fans. Songs of Andrew Lloyd Weber; whew, could it get any tougher? I'm a David Cook fan (once he stopped being a "poser") so my vote went to him tonight. That is all.

Blend Don't Shake

Eight of the Groovy Tuesday gals are in blended families -- second time around marriages with his and her kids, pets, and stuff. It can be rewarding, exhausting, exasperating, just right or over the top; sometimes all at the same time. Along with all the usual joys and headaches of being a family is an added dimension of dynamics -- the ex-spouse is a nut case, supporting an ex-spouse is creating a financial burden, the biological kids don't get along with the step-parent, the biological parents favors his/her own kid, (fill in the blank). It gets somewhat easier as the kids get older and time graces the re-marriage, but blending issues never totally go away. They keep coming 'round like a broken seat on the merry-go-round.

I recently heard Dr. Donald and Jenetha Partridge talk about the art of making a blended family work. They have very interesting, insightful and eye-opening things to say about high-speed solutions that will stabilize a step-family, building working stepparent/stepchild relationships, dealing with difficult ex-spouses and their partners, and more. There are lots of books out there for single parents and blended families but I think their take on the dynamics of HOW a stepfamily works or fails is what makes their approach more likely to be successful when applied in a real-world situation. Check out their website at www.blendingfamily.com

Contentment Does Not Have to be Age-Related

Recent research shows that older Americans are happier than their younger counterparts. While a certain amount of distress comes with the territory (health, loss of loved ones, etc), it appears that the elderly have learned to be content. This is due, in part, to adjusted (lowered) expectations. (April 2008 American Sociological Review)

I don't want to wait until I'm 80 to experience contentment. Since crossing the 50 yard line, I've learned to adjust my expectations but it's not a compromise or lowered standards -- it's about placing my expectations in the right framework. I am learning that living a life that honors the Lord brings a certain peace and joy to my daily living. I wish I'd learn that lesson sooner.

Paul says it so eloquently in Philippians 4:11-13.

"...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

Eradicating a Pervasive Stink

I thought that only old people and little boys talked openly about potty issues, but it's becoming a real topic of conversation around our house lately. My husband is doing some repair work in one of our bathrooms, which requires that the toilet be removed for several days. That means the hole in the floor that drains to the sewer lines is exposed. The view isn't so bad as it's just a dark hole, but the stench!!!! It wasn't until the third day when I walked into the house, that I was hit with a stink that permeated the air and made me sick to my stomach.

My dear husband can't smell very well thanks to allergies, so he was taken aback when I complained about the smell. As I ran from room to room opening windows and turning on fans, he sheepishly covered the hole to prevent further air pollution.

Satan works like that. He can be bold, or sometimes very subtle, in the ways he ingratiates himself into our lives when we lower our guard and expose ourselves to the stink that exists in the dark places. The thought, emotion or action can seem so innocently right at the time --- or maybe even overtly what-the-heck-okay--- but given the right circumstances, it may slowly rot and decay into a putrification that permeates our soul and eventually makes us emotionally, physically or spiritually ill.

Faith and Longevity

I recently read an article which stated that scientists have begun identifying places throughout the world, know as Blue Zones, where people routinely live to be 100 and older. The list includes Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Penisula, Costa Rica. The article focused specifically on Costa Rica, and provided a list of their secrets to long life, including having a strong sense of life purpose and family life, and getting some sensible sunshine. But while the list may vary from Blue Zone to Blue Zone, one secret remained constant throughout --- a strong sense of spiritual traditions and a belief in God.

"...when you ask the most highly functioning seniors how they are, they always say, 'I feel good...thanks to God.' Yet they may be blind and deaf and their bones hurt....they tend to relinquish control of their livees to God. The fact that God is in control...relieves any economic, spiritual, or well-being anxiety they might otherwise have. They go through life with a peaceful certitude that someone is looking out for them." (Elizabeth Lopez, Living Healthy to 100 by Dan Buettner, May/June 2008 AARP Magazine)

So I can throw out my anti-aging creams, be thankful for my family's good genes and praise the Lord that He will carry me through --- 'cause I'm going for 100 or more!!!

Love and Duty

A pair of little finches have made a nest in one of our trees. As sweet and adorable as these birds can be, they can also be fearlessly tenacious when it comes to defending their babies. Unfortunately, their nest is fairly close to our driveway so we walk by it on a daily basis. Mom and Dad Finch chirp madly at us and flit about as they try to our divert attention. There's a life lesson in this, but I'm going to just let it go right now and simply delight in the display of love and duty this feathered couple has towards their little family.

Peaks and Valleys

"our cravings for a mountaintop experience--all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live the ordinary 'gray' day according to what we saw on the mountain." (Oswald Chambers)

One thing about Oswald Chambers, he tells it like it is. Literally give me a sunny, bluebird kind of day and I'm ready for anything; but give me a gray, sunless day and I become gray and lifeless, too. Thank goodness I don't live in Seattle, I'd be miserable and worthless. Metaphorically speaking, it is difficult to continue to live from the vapors of mountain top euphoria when I'm living in the everyday valley. I'd rather be on a trip to a foreign country than a trip to the grocery store. I'd rather be enjoying a date with my husband than engaging in a tough conversation about finances. I'd rather be communing with fellow believers than living my faith in a non-believing world. I'm going to have to learn to embrace my entire life if I'm going to get the most out of every step of my journey.

Making Peace

I keep thinking about this peacemaker thing. Peacemaker -- a maker of peace. I've been looking at my interaction with friends, family, neighbors, difficult neighbors, strangers, the bad drivers on the freeways, the annoying clerk.... So do I make peace or do I make sure I win? It's easy to point my finger at someone else and tell them they need to make peace with someone or some situation. It's harder to point that finger at myself and hold myself accountable. Just trying to keep it real.

Peacemakers and Culture

Pastor Steve continued his teaching today on peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Christians are often at odds with the world. Jesus said no matter, take heart, the world rejected Him first, so expect rejection and live not for this world. But we are also called to be peacemakers, so how do we stand for Truth in a fallen world but at the same time make peace in (not with) the world?

Christ does not call us into a culture war. We are to be salt and light in the world and stand for things that are biblical truth --- but in a way that causes the world to want to know Jesus, not reject Him. Talking about and getting involved in the issues, whether they be political, moral, social, religious, are important. But at the end of the day, talking with your opponent about the issues of the soul -- what is compelling you to be Christ-lie in nature --- is more important than winning arguments or referendums or.... Otherwise, the world will marginalize us as those crazy evangelicals who want to thrust our religion down their throats (think the Crusaders), and they may never come to know the true Christ.

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord..."
(Hebrews 12:14)

A Thought for Today

Quite some time ago, Muffy shared an excerpt from "Intimacy With The Almighty" by Chuck Swindoll in an e-mail. At the time, she was struggling with something in her life and came across this word of truth during her devotional time.

I printed it out and refer to it often when I'm faced with a challenge that seems overwhelming to me. I wanted to share it with you so you could also benefit from it's message...

"I'm finally learning that His sovereign plan is the best plan. That whatever I entrust to Him, He can take care of better than I. That nothing under His control can ever be out of control (I LOVE that sentence!). That He is able to supply, to guide, to start, to stop, to sustain, to change, and to correct in His time and for His purposes. When I keep my hands out of things, His will is accomplished, His Name is exalted, and His glory is magnified. I am finally learning that surrendering to my sovereign Lord, leaving the details of my future in His hands, is the most responsible act of obedience that I can do. And, until I do it, becoming a deep person remains nothing more than a distant and pious dream."

Blessings on you all... my Groovy Sisters!
Peppermint

Practicing Planned Abandonment

Planned abandonment - "means learning how and when to say no, as well as cultivating the discipline of saying no...Invariably the challenges (we) face are due not to lack of opportunity but to the multiplicity of choices."

No wonder I feel overwhelmed. I'm a take-it-all-in kind of gal, which is great for fun and life experience, but doesn't do much to further my stated life purpose. I've been practicing planned abandonment lately and it's amazing how much less distracted and more empowered I am. Sounds simple enough. Is not so easy to do.

(Quote from Jesus Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones, pg 10)

Amen to That

So far today, God,
I've done all right...
I haven't gossiped.
I haven't been grumpy, nasty or selfish.
I'm really glad of that.
But in a few minutes, God.
I'm going to get out of bed.
From now on, I'm probably going to need a lot of help.


(author unknown as published in Deeper by Debbie Alsdorf)

Ouch

" ' We have become a puny and weak-willed society because of ...a cynical sort of lazy, bored, arrogance...Our culture is frankly bored with everything. We are a species made for cosmology yet our culture has rendered us passive couch potatoes and shopping and entertainment addicts. In short, we have been cut off from the big(ness) of the universe, and consequently we are bored, boring, and violent.' "

(Matthew Fox as quoted by Laurie Beth Jones in her book, Jesus, Life Coach.)

A Time to Celebrate

We're dancing a happy jig because one of our dear Groovy Tuesday gals had her last treatment today after 8 long months of chemo & radiation for breast cancer. While she has reconstructive surgery ahead of her, it's a glorious thing that the killing work is done and the healing work is beginning. And through it all, she has maintained dignity, grace, humor and a positive attitude that she says was possible only through the grace and strength of God.

Collateral Damage

My husband and I were broadsided recently when we realized we were dealing with the lingering effects of collateral damage we unknowingly caused 14 years ago. We were accused of doing, or not doing, things that we were oblivious to at the time. Ouch. Despite the complex and emotionally charged situation, and all the reasons why things went down as they did, the fact remains that there was fall-out. It made us stop and think about the collateral damage that we all knowingly or unknowingly cause when we act in ways that are self-focused, fearful or not honest with each other.

No Glass Slipper--It's the Real Deal

Cinderella did it! She rode 65 miles on Saturday along with 2,500 other women to honor cancer survivors and raise money for further research. The Groovy Tuesdays are soooo proud of her accomplishment. She pushed back her fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, and asked her body to push itself to its limits. When Cinderella first started training for this ride, she used to wake up on training days and pray for rain so she could get out of riding. She was a different princess on Saturday. She flashed a perfect pink lipstick smile and gave out a shout of victory when she rode across the finish line. I've never seen her more beautiful!

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

To bring a fresh perspective to what it means to be a peacemaker, our pastor urged us to look at what Christ was NOT saying about peace.

He did NOT say blessed are those who:

• find peace for themselves --- That's not a peacemaker, it's just someone who is personally content.
• live peacefully with others --- Again, that's not making the peace between opposing factions, it's just being the one who doesn't create the problems.
  
• are the peacekeepers --- That's not making peace, that's making sure the opposing factions don't go to war again if the buffer zone is removed.
• are the peace lovers --- Peaceniks are not peace makers. They may love peace but do nothing personally do create peace. Indeed, many of them can be quite violent in their protests over peace.

Peacemakers are action oriented. They actively work towards making peace with others, between others, for others.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you." (Christ's words, John 14:27)

In the Meantime

One of our Groovy Tuesday gals has been undergoing cancer treatments for months. Hers is a serious cancer, the life-threatening kind. But she has shown grace, humility and even humor throughout her ordeal; which she said she couldn't do without an absolute belief that she is in God's hands. So I want to honor her today with a heartfelt message that I know comes from everyone who has been touched by her experience.

Thank you, sweet friend, for showing us that life can be lived in the "meantime." While cancer is serious, you have showed us that you can continue to live life, and even celebrate life, through an on-going crisis when you rest in the knowledge that God is in control, no matter the outcome..

Networked Myself into a New Red Coat

I attend lots of networking events to promote my business. I've never attended one that ended up with a snappy new red coat.

A local department store hosted a fashion show to promote the new alliance between a national women's networking group and a well-known designer. Invite members and guests, pour a little wine, serve a little food, then sit back and watch the models do their thing in new spring fashions. Offer a 20% discount on the evening's purchases, and yep, the next thing you know, we're all shopping instead of networking!!!

Actually, in the fun of it all, several of us did make new contacts as we gushed over a cute jacket or a swishy pleated skirt. As bonus, I'm now the owner of a great little coat that will remind me of the fun long after the evening has ended.

Simplify

To reorder one's own world, the need to simplify is imperative. Otherwise, we will find ourselves unable to be at rest within, unable to enter the deep, silent recesses of our hearts, where God's best messages are communicated.
(Chuck Swindoll)

To Bee or Not to Bee

I heard a lovely word-picture today of how we are to "be" during the inevitable trials in our lives. When a bee flies into a flower (God's presence), it is covered by pollen (God's Word) and takes on a lovely fragrance (Holy Spirit). When I am in a trial, it helps to think of myself as that bee, entering God's presence; absorbing the calming, uplifting and powerful words of my Maker; taking on the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. Hmmm, note to self--keep fresh flowers in my house.

Sneakers

There is hope for me yet. An article posted on Yahoo!News says that prolific sneaker buyers (3 or more pairs annually) are 61% more likely to exhibit character traits of a modern leader. "What is interesting is that these personality traits held true across the board, regardless of age, income, or gender."

Whoa, sneakers are my number one footwear purchase (check out the cute Sketchers in the photo)--but I have to say my motivation is one of comfort and accommodating a previously broken foot. Does that qualify for leadership traits?

(Referenced original article written by Belinda Goldsmith of Reuters LIfe!. poll information Mindset Media and Neilsen, quote from L Arvonio of Mindset Media)

Clown or Honest Beauty?

A friend of mine asked me if I noticed that when younger men are going bald these days, they just shave their heads and be done with it. In her day, balding was a sign of lack of virility and men did anything, including comb-overs and hair implants to cover up their exposed scalps. In her day, the only men who went bald were the clowns in the circus.

But today, younger men have embraced their hairless heads, and we all applaud their "courage" and even tell them how "sexy" they look. So my question is why doesn't that same standard apply to women? Lots of women have receding hairlines or thinning scalps due to hereditary factors, illness or menopause. If any of them dared to shave their thinning hair off (or at the very least cut it extremely short), they would be treated like cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy --- shock and pity.

Hmmm. If I was brave, I'd shave mine off as a social experiment, but I gotta admit, I'm not that brave..