Reflect and Project

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you but I am excited about the New Year and God's Plans for it. The New Year is a fresh start and I tend to Reflect and Project each January. I reflect on the blessings I've received in the previous year, what goals I reached and didn't, and lessons I learned in all areas of my life. Then I project. I talk with God and listen for a word from Him for the year, and start with new goals (or re-worked previous goals), visions, dreams, and plans.

This year I'm starting with two words: FOCUS and IMPOSSIBLE. 

( Thank you Heike Wilczek McDoniel for creating these. )

For those who don't know me personally, I'm into a little bit of this and a little bit of that and have lots of "squirrel!" moments that steal my attention and focus.  So between that and procrastination, it's hard for me to get things DONE...consistently. :) I am working on that this year.

I also have been challenged to ask God for impossible things. Some call this God-sized Dreams. It is that thing that you want or envision that you think, " There is no way. That is impossible. I could never... that's never going to happen... that kind of thing doesn't happen to me."
On New Year's Eve morning, I read my YouVersion daily devotion from Pastor Steven Furtick. It was called Sun Stands Still, and was on Joshua 10. In this story, the Lord made the sun stand still for Joshua. He gave Joshua a mission to lead the Israelites, and told him that He would be with him. So before a big battle Joshua asked the impossible. 

MAKE THE SUN STOP IN THE SKY. 

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

Impossible.

But God loves a good challenge and He will do the impossible. Especially if He has given you a mission or task.  You are here in this moment of time, in these circumstances, with this family, in this house, in this community for a reason. I don't know it and maybe you don't either. But the Lord does.

Things may be happening in your life that need a conclusion that seems impossible.

With God All Things are Possible. Take it to Him and wait for the Sun to Stand Still.

What IMPOSSIBLE are you facing right now?

Three Wise (wo)Men

This Christmas I was just in a funk.

It started early in December with the lack of desire to decorate. I kept hoping the spirit would kick in.
It's hard enough here in Florida when you are still running the A/C and there is no chance of a White Christmas, but it has gotten harder as the kids have become teenagers and there is very little "magic" left to be found.

We had all been fighting a virus as well, so no one wanted to do anything festive at all. The Grinch-y mood would come and go, but now it was Christmas Week. The most decorating I had done was put a red checkered (vinyl!) tablecloth over my kitchen table and place a gifted poinsettia in the center.

No tree. No stockings. No lights.

On one hand I told myself, "All that stuff is fluff. Jesus is the Reason for the Season." and on the other hand I felt guilty for not doing it.  

I went "inside". Inside my blanket on the couch. Inside my comfy, baggy, clothes. Inside my head.

I could not find happiness. I could not find Joy. I was fully depressed and for no good reason. There was nothing to be sad about, really.  I couldn't understand why I felt so sad, depressed, weepy, angry, joy-less. I hid it pretty well from my family and I'm sure they thought I was hormonal or just feeling sick.

This year more than ever I wanted to be rejoicing Jesus' birth. I had been blessed plenty in 2012. My spirit knew this but my flesh didn't care.

I tried praying. I tried reading scriptures. I tried playing Christmas music, watching holiday movies, baking some cookies. I couldn't pull out of it for very long, if at all.

Facebook was making me crazy but I couldn't stay away. Seeing everyone's Hallmark moments was killing me but I couldn't stop. Families posing for holiday pictures. ( Mine barely got out of pajamas.)  Beautiful trees with mountains of wrapped gifts. ( No tree.) Snowy vacations. ( It's in the 70's)  Elf on the Shelf.  (Yes. I wished to do Elf pranks, too. )

I got off the computer and into the shower. And cried. I begged God to reach out to me. It was Christmas Eve morning and He felt so far away.

Back in stretchy yoga pants and a towel wrapped around my head,  I thought I'd look for Him on my Bible App. I found this on The Message version: 

"Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. (1 Peter 4:1, 2 MSG)

 

I clicked "Share on Facebook" and added to the comments "I have been depressed the past few days and trying to figure out why. And I think it's because my holiday plans don't turn out the way I want. Not in gifts or material things but my "Hallmark Channel" family time way. I've been focusing on what I don't have instead of what I do have. And everyone's Facebook posts make me sick. I am praying hard this morning to release this jealousy and be grateful. It is REALLY hard today."

Then God sent Three Wise (wo)Men bringing gifts from afar.

The first out-of-state friend private messaged me to tell me they were not having Hallmark moments either. Greedy kids and blow-out fighting disgusted her. She gave me Love and this scripture.

Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:6-7 

 

A little later, another friend who lives nearby text-messaged and shared her ugly. Her family was sick. She was doing it all, but alone.... and not by choice.  She brought Perspective and Micah 6:8

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,

what God is looking for in men and women.

It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don't take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.

MSG Micah 6:8

Then a 3rd friend called from miles away and shared her REALLY ugly and we cried and prayed together. She shared a reminder about Mary, Jesus' mother. " Mary was doing EXACTLY what God wanted her to do and God still didn't make it easy for her. He didn't roll out the red carpet and make the perfect setting for His Son's birth. If He was going to make life easy for anyone it should have been Mary and Jesus. Quite the opposite. So remember despite the surroundings, look for the Joy."

She gave me Compassion and Peace.

As we talked we both thought that Christmas must be a huge "battle time" for the Enemy.

Think about it.

Even lukewarm and Non-Christians think about Jesus during the holidays. People feel charitable and have good will toward each other that they don't always have all year. Even The Whos and the Grinches come together!

But also at this time of year, people feel loneliness and depression, envy and greed as well. 

As we talked, it was clear that Christmas time must be a Main Event for both dark and light!  
So many people shining Light and celebrating the Messiah!
The Enemy must be working overtime to battle all that goodness!

There it was all wrapped up in John 10:10.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

I had been robbed. Robbed and bound for weeks.

But... the Truth and the "truth" will set you free.

Three different friends reaching out in three different ways with three different UGLIES and gifts to share. God didn't come directly at me but He sent Three Wise wo(Men) to share their "truth" and the Truth that binds us as Christian Sisters.

I  was Free again! Joy to the World! My Lord has Come! :)

Commandment #10

Commandment #10: Thou Shall Not Covet                                                        

To covet: (v) to wish for or desire what belongs to another,

   

Why is it that we look toward others and compare our lives to them? Sizing up ourselves against what someone else’s life looks like. Appears to be.  It’s been done since the invention of Man.

” But why can’t I have the apple?” “But why does Esau get the blessing?” “But why does Matthew get to go?”

    

Pretty Polly Perfect

Had a great vacation in the Smoky Mountains. Great family time and everyone got along perfectly! Little Jimmy won $100 in the pie eating contest and then gave it to the local homeless shelter.  On the way home we found a lost dog at a rest stop, We named him Sgt. Brown after the war  veteran we met while visiting the soup kitchen last month. It’s almost Back to School time, and we are so excited for Sis to start college. How awesome that she will finally fulfill her dream of becoming a pediatric nurse! Well off to plan a trip with Hubby to celebrate 20 years of blissful marriage! God is so good!

Excuse me while I puke in my mouth.

A daily diet of this can make anyone turn green with envy and feel disillusioned about her own life. It can make you think you are doing something wrong. That you don’t deserve to have blessings. That God doesn’t think you deserve them. That He's holding out on you. You begin to think that Jeremiah 29:11 is for other people, not you.

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' Jeremiah 29:11

It’s not even like we don’t want others  to have it. We just want it, too!

Be careful what you wish for.

Along with that “perfect life” that you think you want, you might also be getting the TRUTH behind that pretty post. You might get the abusive childhood that Pretty Polly has to overcompensate for every day. You might get the 50 hr workweek that Hubby has to endure to pay for said luxuries. You might get Sis’s eating disorder that developed from her warped internal idea of success. You might get Little Jimmy’s loneliness and secret longing for a Mom who would have let him keep that $100 and blow it on a cap gun or some other “dangerous” boy toy.

The truth is we don’t know what ANYONE’S life is really like. We only know what they choose to share.

How much less pressure would we all feel if we could understand that it’s THEIR life, and our life is OUR life? It’s the one God wanted us to have. The one filled with lessons WE need to learn and experiences WE need to have. The one that we will be able to navigate with using the unique and special qualities that we have been blessed with.

It’s a hard lesson to learn….Gratitude despite the circumstances.  Something to be practiced every day. It's a hard commandment not to break.

Someone told me once that the Ten Commandments are not what God wants us NOT to do, but what He knows we WILL do. And that's why we need grace.

Thank you, Lord. For MY life.

Thank you, Lord for grace.

 

What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough. ~Bertolt Brecht, Jungle of Cities, 1924

 

JC and The Boys

I watch too much TV.

But I just love it! I love so many different types of shows.

I watch. I DVR. I view On Demand.

Sitcoms. Dramas. Talk shows. Documentaries. Game Shows. Cartoons.
And Shamedly... Reality TV.

Now mostly I like ones that have people with some talent like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance. I cannot make it through a whole episode of Jersey Shore or the Bachelor but I have hung in there for Mob Wives and even the train wreck that is Dance Moms and Toddlers and Tiaras.

I liken myself to one of my other favorite tv people, Anderson Cooper. He is a quirky combo of serious news journalist intelligence and white trash reality TV-loving ignorance. He freely admits that it is a guilty pleasure and interest that he cannot often explain himself.  I feel the same.

I think we are both People Persons(People People?). People fascinate me. I love to look into their lives, and see what shoes they are walking in. Sometimes I recognize the shoes, and sometimes I am just happy that I don't own a pair like theirs, 'cause they look like they leave blisters.

I even tend to think about things in the context of a televised production. Often when I hear a funny story, I envision it as a sitcom or a movie scene. I find myself immersed in a daydream where the scenario plays out in my own high-def mental performance. I believe I am a visual learner and this is how I internalize what I hear. Or I have some undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder.

This happens to me in church sometimes. And it did today.

Pastor Q was telling the classic story of the "Loaves and Fishes" from Mark 6:30. PQ is a great storyteller and he breaks the Bible down into bite-size. manageable pieces for me that I can understand, and he quotes the Bible literally, but then "puts some skin on it" by rephrasing in what I call "English". Today during the sermon, my mind immediately goes into Reality TV/ documentary mode.

³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

³² So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.

³⁴ Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Jesus has just finished a concert.  The crew is exhausted and they jump into the limo to get away for a bit. They drive a little and decide on buying a Starbucks. JC is the new emerging star. None like the world has ever seen. He is beginning to achieve rockstar status. And He has an entourage. A crew, security and a management team, and a band called the Disciples.

They pull up to the Starbucks and find that the paparazzi has run ahead and a rather large crowd has gathered. But Jesus is in the groove. He is pumped! Like an artist, he is in the moment. He LOVES his fans. He begins to sign autographs and shake hands. He is focused on giving the people what they need. Some people are there as true fans, true believers and others have just joined the band wagon. They don't even know who Jesus is but they sense he's someone important and they want to say they were a part of it. They are snapping pictures with their iPhones, Facebooking and "checking in" with JC at Starbucks. Jesus takes out his guitar and decides to sing a few songs right there in the parking lot. He feels utter joy to be sharing a part of himself and the Spirit of his Music. The people listen intently as if they had never heard music before.

The day is getting late. The disciples come to him, “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:35

Some of the disciples  are wearing black suits and headsets. Security is at the front holding people back and looking panicky. Jesus is all smiles. He just wants to touch every person. Leave his autograph with every last soul.

"JC.. JC?.. Man, listen... it's getting late. Peter needs his latte. He's getting a caffeine headache. This crowd is off the chain. Let's just get our Grande Mocha Frappe and go, man."

³⁷ But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

Here's what plays on Fast forward in my mind.

JC says to Philip, "So.  Go get Peter his latte and bring a treat for everyone here."

"What? Are you on crack? Seriously JC... do you see how many people are here? My gold card does NOT have that many credits on it. Maybe enough for like 5 grandes and 2 cake pops!

And just like the Loaves and fishes story, there is plenty to go around. Everyone gets their autographs and there is the miracle of enough Mochas and cakepops for all!
God's will be done.  :)


Now don't you wish we could go back in time with a film crew and just follow Jesus and the Disciples for a reality show? I would watch, TIVO, DVR, On Demand it, and buy the Blu-ray!


I cannot help but go this route everytime I read or hear about the Disciples and their lack of faith. And the PATIENCE that Jesus must have had for them, and has for all of us.  The Disciples were losers. Idiots. Bufoons. And yet Jesus chose them to carry on his message. He saw something in them that was worthy. No matter if they could see it or not.

How about when Jesus is walking with his Disciples and is trying to tell them that he has to die and they are behind Him arguing about who is the best?? Mark 9:30-33  I picture the Holy One having a moment where He reverts to "fully man" and just looks to sky saying "Really, Lord? Really? I have to die for these yahoos?? Are you sure there is not another way?"

That's the irony and the beauty right there. Jesus died for us anyway. For the idiots who continued to disbelieve even after He performed miracles right in front of their faces. For the fools who questioned again and again.

And He is OUR Biggest fan! He thinks we are the Rockstar! Right now. Right where we are. Not when we get on the cover of Rolling Stone. Not when we sell a million records. Right now when we are singing in our room too shy to let anyone hear us. He hangs posters of us in his bedroom, and wears t-shirts with our picture on them. He is front row center at every concert, and saves the ticket stubs in his memory box.

 But the Disciples give me hope. Hope that God sees something special in each of us and if we can just get out of our own way and let Him lead us, He has a great plan for our lives. He loves us ALL. To Him we are all "the best." No matter what we do or don't do. No matter how we fail, doubt or question.

And if there's was hope for the Disciples, then there is hope for me. And if there is hope for me then there is hope for you.

And if there is hope for you, then even Snooki has a chance. Rock on, JC!

I'm a....

FARMER!

Technically, an herb farmer... and these are the fruits of my labor!

And when I say labor, I mean the effort put forth to go to Lowe's pick out some mint plants and shove them in some Miracle Grow potting soil, and occasionally give them some water.

Ok I just lied. I don't even water them...generally the sprinklers get them or my husband has mercy on their little plant souls and gives them a drink.

BUT, I did harvest the mint... so maybe I'm a HARVESTER!.

Cutting off bunches, tying them together with string and hanging them to dry on a pushpin stuck in the wall of my bedroom closet until they are crispy.

Pulling off the leaves and storing in a container....

until I got the urge to make some tea. I pulled out the tea maker thingy that I bought when visiting the Asian food store the other day....

...put the leaves in the center and fill with hot water and let steep.

Voila!

Yummy mint tea!

I'm a TEA BARISTA!

(is that even the right terminology? who knows?)

I had my doubts since it was my first day on the job as a tea barista with no formal training, and using tea pot that had directions written in Korean or some other Asian lettering, 

but it was yummy!

 My agricultural talents don't end with mint. I also have culantro(a prickly form of cilantro), grape tomatoes, chives and fresh basil. I love to use fresh herbs in salsa, quiche and other recipes like caprese salad.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/caprese-salad-recipe/index.html

Or as a acne treatment.:)

Basil has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial properties that work to calm redness and swelling of blemishes. Maybe it's weird, but it works!  And growing things just makes you feel good. There is something about watching a plant grow and being able to then take it and create food, or tea, or acne treatment! It feels so colonial. Like I might try to quilt, or blacksmith horseshoes next!

So take it from this gardening newbie that has a light brown thumb instead of green, start with herbs. They are easy and forgiving and you can be a farmer, too!

Or a...

BASIL-HEAD!

Oh Snickelfritz!

Welcome to my very first post of my blog!

I've agonized over the name, the layout, the theme to the point of almost scrapping it all! Wanting just the perfect nomenclature that would represent ME! It's quite a feat to try and squish yourself into a tiny box of description that will be released to the world that knows you and may never know you... except through this blog.



So friends and strangers I will explain my perfect pick!

The phrase "Oh snickelfritz" was not originally created by me but has become my cleaned-up version of a swear word! It's an exclamation that I utter with great frequency at the elementary school where I work. For me it's a perfect combination of all those R-rated words that I want to say, but wrapped in a cute G-rated package!


Go on.. try it out the next time you stub your toe, or spill your coffee.. Oh SNICKELFRITZ! :)

Then to my wondrous surprise when I googled the meaning of snickelfritz, I found that it is a term of endearment for a talkative, mischievous child! Practically the definition of me! (although technically I am an adult, wife, and mother of three)

So what to expect from this blog??
Lots of talking...and some mischief! :)

I hope to share insights, laughs, great ideas and awesome things in general... like Pinterest...
You do know about Pinterest, don't you? It's internet crack... Seriously, I need a support group. "Hello, I'm Sheila and I'm addicted to Pinterest." 

So thanks for reading and stay tuned....

(Just as soon as I figure out how to get cuter fonts on this thing...must have adorable fonts...)