Who Knew? Dedicated to Love INC

“The woman I was yesterday, introduced me to the woman I am today; which makes me very excited about meeting the woman I will become tomorrow. ”
― Poetic Evolution

Isn't life grand, just when we think we are pretty cool God puts us in a pot and turns up the heat! We never know when it's going to happen either, no outsmarting our creator!
I do volunteer work for a non profit in my area called Love INC  (Love in the Name of Christ). They offer a plethora of wonderful things to Black Hills area residents who struggle financially or otherwise. They welcome volunteers with big smiles, even bigger hearts and some time to spare. For more information about them look here. http://www.loveinconline.com/
On Thursday evenings Life INC is in full swing. Area churches and others are encouraged to volunteer their time, energy, groceries and child care skills to assure a success. A hot meal is prepared and offered prior to a variety of classes relating to child care, finances and pulling your life together in general.
I was volunteering in the kitchen one evening last fall when one of the staff told me I was welcome and encouraged to sign up for a class if I wanted. I looked over the selection and decided on a course called Jobs for Life.
My three years of college didn't prepare me for what I am learning here. The instructors and mentors are wonderful. The text/work book for the class says "The Journey is the reward" on its cover and that is a fact! I have met some truly magnificent people there and as I feel my own growth, I am also able to observe the growth in others.
After class lets out those interested typically go somewhere for coffee. It was during one such outing that one of the instructors decided without my knowledge, to video me with her iPhone while I was talking. For me to say that I wasn't prepared to see myself like that is an understatement.

Whoa! What an eye opener. Like I said previously, just when we think we are pretty cool....the Lord is up there working in his mysterious ways!
This is not a class for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn't welcome a crash
course in constructive criticism because you get it all there, along with a plentiful helping of humble pie  and a pride buster thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend it, if you think you can handle it.
What a tremendous service this class is. With the proper attitude and a great big smile you can learn a great deal from it. Thank you Jesus for your trickery! How in the world can we be annoyed when our blessed savior opens our eyes?
If you are inclined to have a pity party after you have been severely humiliated I strongly suggest you make yourself a pan of brownies and get over yourself. http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/09/jack-daniels-salted-caramel-fudge-brownie-recipe.html
A bite or two of these bad boys will expedite your recovery...all is not lost!

Smarts vs. Passion

I was so thrilled when I found this article, it is one of the closest descriptions of myself I have ever read...

There are smart people and there are passionate people. Smart people show up, do good work, and then go home. Passionate people can’t help but show up early, drive everyone crazy with ideas, suggestions, and numerous attempts at solutions that result in both success and failure. They stay late, and they annoy the smart people because they make the smart people look lazy. When they fall down, they can’t help but get back up and try again. Smart people annoy the passionate people because the smart people are just trying to get the A. Passionate people don’t care about the grade, they care about learning something, and being better.

Smart is boring, and easy, for the smart ones. Smart is safe and smart is average.

Passion is life, and risk, and adventure, and unpaved roads, and massive fulfillment.

Written  By Whitney on January 30, 2014

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I am a very passionate person.

Being so has gotten me in trouble, caused me to loose sleep, caused me to annoy the holy hell out of several million other people and caused me to cry myself into a stupor many times.

On one hand it is the most frustrating way to be and on the other hand, I wouldn't change it about myself if I could. Being passionate has pushed me to complete things that I would have otherwise walked away from. Being passionate has kept me caring for people who I probably should have forgotten long ago and being passionate gives me tenacity.


I am passionate about many things...

1. My Savior. How can I not be? Just reflecting on that very word...savior... brings alive a passion within me like no other. dictionary.reference.com/browse/savior noun 1. a person who saves, rescues, or delivers, 2. the savior of the country. 3.a title of God, especially of Christ.

2.  Development & Writing are my favorite outlets and with any luck, they are skills and passions that will somehow manifest themselves into a career of sorts. These are my favorite go to-s for cold snowy days and sleepless nights. Taking bits and pieces from here and there and putting them together in an enormous collaboration that hopefully, prayerfully will result in the precise goal I am seeking.                                                                I thrived fooling around with My Space...remember that thing? I had more fun fitting the codes for teeny frogs into tiny spaces and rattling on about whatever I liked best at the moment. I miss that...now everyone is on Face Book, and all that true creativity is not an option. Instead of creativity there are mindless posters and so many guidelines and rules it doesn't fulfill that same desire to be creative that My Space did. Sorry Face Book, I hate to break it to you, but even my eighty nine year old mother called it "in your face" and she wasn't far off. People struggle to calmly scroll down their home page without jumping in somewhere they have no business and attacking their so called 'friend' for offering an opinion that differs from theirs...God forbid! Discovering and chatting with friends, both old and new is their redeeming grace. 

3. Cooking is the first of my two favorite tangible ways to creatively express a passion. I am a very particular eater. I don't use cake mixes nor do I eat meals from the frozen food section of the grocery store.        I want my meals to be made from real food. I see people in the grocery stores loading up on helper this and helper that, frozen this and frozen that and although I am thrilled that those products are available for those who hate the kitchen and hate cooking, thats not for me,           I love it all! I confess to being a small scale Martha Stewart wanna be, I enjoy all things kitchen, even cleaning it....yes..I said cleaning it. When you get the kitchen all cleaned up and sparkling, the heavenly aroma of Carrot Cake coming from the oven, fresh flowers on the table, a bowl of fruit on the counter and coffee of course, ya gotta have a pot of coffee (or tea) ...it is the best room in the home. The room to relax in, the room friends and family always seem to gather in the most. The kitchen is after all, the heart of the home.

4. Plants & Gardening: What better way to express a passion for life and living than to work with soil, digging and planting, weeding and watering...cultivating new life. Just think for a minute about how excited people get in the spring! They can hardly wait to go to the nursery and buy plants and all the needful things for their gardens. It is a passion that stirs deep within us. Tilling the garden, adding fertilizer, tilling again...making the rows and planting the seeds. Watering and weeding, cursing the zucchini that was too small to pick this morning and the size of a baseball bat tomorrow afternoon. With the sweat and hard labor comes the rewards...the pride you feel when you can serve friends and family vegetables and fruits you have grown yourself. Fresh salsa or jam made from the fruits of your labor, salads made from freshly picked greens tossed with home grown tomatoes and dressed with magic potions like Spicy Coconut Cilantro Dressing made from fresh herbs and coconut oil. These things supply a feeling of victory that only a summer garden can provide, a feeling that can not be compared.

I am blessed to have these passions and I am eager to discover new ones.Thankfully when I trip, stumble and fall I have the passion God gifted me with to put me back on my feet, on the right track... and heading towards the Mark

Acts 14:15 KJV
¹⁵ And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein

*This was a fun blog to write, I am learning how to add some new things in an effort to make reading it more fun for you. Note the underlined words, when clicked on they will take you to the directions or recipe of the underlined item.  

Stepping Up With Integrity

The dictionary defines Integrity as..a noun
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.(www.dictionary.com)
- See more at http://www.positive-deviant.com/definition-of-integrity.html#sthash.Oi6RVnqk.dpuf

The dictionary defines Integrity as..a noun
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.(www.dictionary.com)
- See more at: http://www.positive-deviant.com/definition-of-integrity.html#sthash.Oi6RVnqk.dpuf

The dictionary defines integrity as a noun: 1. adherence to moral and ethical principals; soundness of moral character; honesty 2. the state of being whole, entire or undiminished: to preserve the empire. a sound-unimpaired, or perfect condition, the integrity of a ship's hull.  www.dictionary.com

Integrity is a word that is not used much in today’s English. One definition I like is this...
 “the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity”^[1

So we can say that a good synonym for integrity is honesty.
As we stroll through life we have things happen to us daily and how we respond to them without taking the time to mull them over is pretty darned important. As I researched the term integrity I came across this little story, most appropriately called Poor Aim...enjoy!
 

I like to walk in the early morning with my dog. One glorious Saturday morning I was enjoying the quiet and the beautiful weather and loving life while my dog Jett and I made our rounds.
At one home I passed, I noticed a newspaper that was lying near the curb instead of near the doorstep. Thinking I would make someone else's life a little easier I picked up the paper and gently tossed it towards their door. My aim was way off and instead of landing on the doorstep the paper sailed in the opposite direction and landed on the roof of a travel trailer in the driveway. No one saw it but me and I burst out laughing before I realized how I had just complicated the problem.

It was too early to knock on the door and tell the homeowner where their paper was. So, instead, I walked home, changed clothes and went to the grocery store to make it right.
I returned a little later with a new newspaper a basket of fresh strawberries and shortcake and found the homeowner in the driveway working on his vehicle with some friends. With a deep breath, I approached and said, “I hope you have a great sense of humor”.
Fortunately, they did and I couldn’t help but smile all day. I’ve heard it said, “Character is what you do when no one is looking”. 
Character feels good!

 An important part of having integrity is developing critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking is defined as follows:
the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion

 What it boils down to is 'think for yourself'. Do and say what you believe is right, even if down the road you are moved to change your mind. Thinking for ourselves is something that we all have problems doing from time to time because we become caught up in thoughts like "will people dislike me if I have an opinion that is different than theirs?" or "everyone thinks this or that so they must be right." When we believe either of these things we are not using critical thinking skill at all. 

What does the Bible say about having integrity?

Proverbs 28:6 (ESV)  ⁶ Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

Titus 2:7-8 (ESV)⁷ Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸ and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

 In Paul's letter to Timothy {in 2 Tim 1:7} he reminds Timothy {and us} to be courageous and compelled by God's love to share our spiritual gifts - whether it be serving, teaching, giving, encouraging, leading, praying, etc.

So, today when God nudges you to be who He created you to be. Don't let fear hold you back. Instead, remember this truth and tap into the power of the spirit He has given you - one of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

 

Your Christian Stewardhip Can Define You

Stewardship:
1: the office, duties, and obligations of a steward
2: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something ; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care <stewardship of our natural resources>

So what are we actually stewards over?  
Personally, I believe it applies to everything we have been given. The most obvious things
would include our finaces, homes, abilities and the gifts God has given us, yet it also includes the influence we have over others.

I particularly like how the definition says “managing of something.”
Just like the manager of a store is responsible for his/her business and employees, we are each responsible for managing ourselves, which should include our behavior toward others at all times.

When I started researching stewardship, I found several verses in the Bible concerning how people were rewarded for their good stewardship in the handling money and property. The good stewards were the ones who took “risks” and action in order to multiply or improve what they had been given. The poor steward was the one who out of fear decided not to take a risk and were then considered to be lacking in motivation.
Consider the things we do and the people we encounter on a daily basis. Are we being good stewards in all areas with all people?

I know I certainly have room for improvement. This year I had the opportunity to work retail during the busy shopping season and it was a real eye opener for me. I learned a couple of important things about people.
 #1. People working retail are performing a thankless, underpaid position, one that should be appreciated by shoppers more than it is.
 #2. Most shoppers are demanding and rude...
O.K. I know...the customer is always right. Whatever...blah blah blah...
That very statement has sadly encouraged this behavior.
It has prompted our culture to feel so entitled that we forget something as rudimentary as shopping stewardship. Our minds are so transformed that we, as a society believe that the employee in the retail setting is the only person capable of scoring the big F in Retail. What about us...the shoppers...what happened to our shopping stewardship?

I was taught when growing up to put things back where I got them if I decided against them. (Have you ever seen the box of ice cream on the bread shelf??) I was also taught to hang things back on the hangers after I tried them on (not rip off the tags, throw them on the floor, wade through them to leave the fitting room and expect my mommy; the store clerk making $7.50). This shopper even puts clothing back where I got it if I decide against it..yup..yup...you read that right.
Sometimes people think I work there, but No, I just have a boss who expects this from me.

Jars of Clay wrote this wonderful song that reminds us of how we are suppose to behave.                  A few of the lyrics go like this...

We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other
We will work side by side
We will work with each other
We will work side by side

And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

This should be our Christian Mantra.

My dear friend Michael Knopf  https://www.facebook.com/theholyspiritministry tells me he can spot a Christian by the light in their eyes. I like to believe that this is so. 

Enjoy a spirit filled weekend and don't forget your shopping, no scratch that...your Christian Stewardship in all areas of your life. Don't forget, your bossy boss is watching you too.

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Our own brand of Christianity

Human beings are so fascinating. It is intriguing to me how we call ourselves Christian yet we have areas of Christianity that we totally dismiss. Do we have some deep seeded, disagreement with portions of the rules for living that Jesus has given us, or do we convince ourselves that our way is the way and therefore we have no need to change or maybe we are simply so blind that we refuse to recognize those, oh so negative traits within ourselves. Whatever it is, this is a wonderful time to do something about it. 2014 has arrived so instead of making rules pertaining to my diet, or exercising, what better time to just say "Here I am Lord, please fix me. You see within me Lord all of the areas that my blinders prevent me from seeing. You know what character traits I have that are holding me back. You see me struggle Lord and although you understand that I sometimes feel violated by others. other times I am doing the violating myself."

It is never my intention to violate others. In fact,
God knows that I feel really awful when I do and it dawns on me that I have been less than Christ like. The Holy Spirit is very good at offering us correction and wisdom to invoke change.
I have at times found myself apologizing to people who didn't even know I had offended them for things only I feel were offensive.
Like ignoring someone who wants to merge into my lane in busy traffic to being short with someone I really have no problem with at all.
The good news is that as I grow in Christ, I am changing.
 
1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (ESV) says this...8.Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away, as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.9  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

When we see a glimpse of our self in a mirror, a mirror provided by God it is so very humbling. But what about the times when we have no idea we are being offensive?
Those moments are sometimes made up of things we do to others that we justify. May Almighty God help us in this area. May we come to recognize things we do that set us apart from Christ. All of us who call ourselves Christian yet make our own rules all the time out of convenience. We do so as if there are areas where God's laws do not even apply to us. This kind of behavior prompts others to ask "Just what Bible do you read?" 
I don't ever want anyone to  ask that about me, yet I am certain that they do. I ask it about others and Jesus says I must pray for them so I do. We can't make people do things they don't want to do and we can't even make them understand what they are doing that hurts us or hurts themselves but God can. He is the only way. He can heal our hearts and believe me, I have needed mine healed and I need it now and I will need it again and again. He can make impossible things happen within the hearts of people. That is the Bible that I read. That is the Jesus that I know. The Jesus who makes me want to be a better woman. The Jesus who nudges me when I am awful. May he continue to nudge me and nudge all of us when we justify our less than Christ like behavior. May he open our hearts and eyes, may he awaken our brains and our souls and make this the year when we are awakened to the full potential of being a person who calls himself by his Holy name.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 This scripture is really BIG...but it covers all things from abortion to rudeness...from stealing or cheating to selfishness...it covers it all. It is what is needed to change our world, to change our government and to change our relationships with each other and make them really BIG and make make them really important.

Happy New Year! Make this the year we all humble ourselves and seek his face.

Stepping up...into our own shoes

Christmas has come and gone and it is kind of a sad feeling for me. There is so much hype leading up to it that if I hadn't just stolen the time to truly meditate on what it means to me and it's splendor, it may have just moved on without my even noticing.
I love Christmas, and even if the Bible doesn't ask me to celebrate the birth of Jesus and even if Jesus wasn't born in late December, it is the time put aside to worship His birth and that is adequate for me.
It is a special time for us to honor Jesus because He honored us first. That is what Christmas is about for me, honoring others that I love with the grace that Jesus gave me. The grace he gives us all.

I have been living all by myself the last two years for the first time in my whole entire life and I have discovered a lot about myself.  One of the most important discoveries I have made is that God wants me to be amazing, He loves me that much! Whenever I say to him, I can't or I am afraid or I will hurt them or am not strong enough to do something He says to me "Yes, you can" or "Don't be afraid" or "I will be there with you" and sometimes He says "I will give you the words" but more times than not He says to me "I will give you all the strength and courage you need to be exactly what you want to be and more". All I have to do is ask. I can overcome anything from my past, any mistakes I have ever made with others, any shortcomings I have in dealing with others if I just step up and ask Him to help me.


There have been some overwhelming transformations within me and I am made most aware of them when I pay attention to other people's behavior and think to myself... I used to be like that, or I can understand why they are doing that or saying that because that is exactly what I used to say or exactly what I would have done in the same situation.
But when did these changes happen to me?
I have no idea, but I am most certain that they didn't happen overnight. It has taken time and a lot of tears and hurt and pain.

He is tweaking me because I asked him to. He is tweaking me because he loves me and he wants me ready for anything that he has in mind for me. It is frightening and exciting and I love it!
I am not afraid to do things I used to be afraid to do and I am not afraid to tell people how I feel about them or tell them what I think about things, in general, any more and it feels so good.
I Love my Jesus even more for tweaking me and the day He stops tweaking this Earthly girl will be the day I am no longer walking around on this Earth. He loves me all the time, but he loves me the most when I am half mad with pain or frustration because that is when I beg Him to pick me up and love me hard and tweak me more.

It makes me sad now when I see people afraid to be the best they can be. It makes my heart break for the people who have been hurt and given up because that used to be me. I used to hide and not believe for one minute that I could or should try again. I thought, I can't be hurt like that again or what's the use trying, it won't work out anyway.

For the first time in my life, I understand that God wants all good things for me and I can't have them if I am afraid.
He wants me to be happy. He wants me to be loved. He wants me to be able to give like I am made of money and he wants me to be able to receive and be thankful and do so with grace.

So, Grace, He gives me simply because I have asked.
Grace is what he wants us all to have. He doesn't want any of us to be sad or lonely, he wants us all to be loved and in love and full of love for others. He wants us all to have Grace and give it freely to others as well.
Forgiveness, kindness, love, compassion, empathy. All Good things come through him to us to share with others.
Take a moment and reflect on the deepest desires of your very heart.
He already knows what they are and He is waiting for you to ask Him to help you have them too.
Be Blessed, allow His Blessings to fill your heart and your life so you can share them with people you know and love, and with people you encounter and people who are just passing by.
May his Grace, Peace, and Love fill you and overflow into the lives of others and may your New Year bring with it a gate you can open to welcome His tweaks.